Almost 100 delegates from 38 hospices across the country, four universities and three NHS Trusts were present for the our first national conference on the development of palliative care research.
The Establishing Research in Your Hospice event was held at The Edge in Sheffield, bringing together the expertise of established research leaders to support hospices and partner organisations to develop research in the hospice setting.
The day’s keynote speakers – including our Medical Director Dr Sam Kyeremateng and our Consultant and Head of Research Dr Paul Taylor - talked about their experiences of developing a successful research infrastructure.
They were joined by Professor of Palliative Medicine Miriam Johnson, Professor of Palliative Care Fliss Murtagh, Palliative Care Consultants Dr Felicity Dewhurst and our Research & Innovation Manager/Research Nurse Clare Pye.
“Our patient and carers deserve to have the best possible care and our workforce to know we are providing the best possible service we can and research and evidence is at the forefront of this,” said Clare.
“The purpose of our conference, which was endorsed by Palliative Care ResearchSociety and Supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, was to share our experience and support other hospices to develop in their research activity, as we have done in ours.
“After the late Professor Eric Wilkes founded St Luke’s, he established research as one of our charitable objectives.
“Today, our leadership in research aligns with our pioneering approach to influence the available evidence to provide the best care to our patients and their families.
“It is clear that there is a lot of excitement for research in palliative care and the hospice sector and we are thrilled to be a leader in this movement.
“Organising a conference on this level has been a team event and I thank those involved for their support and generosity in getting us to this stage.”