Palliative Care Week is an annual all-island campaign that raises awareness and understanding of palliative care and the positive difference it can make for people living with life-limiting conditions, as well as for their families. carers, and communities.
As part of Palliative Care Week, AIIHPC hosted a series of webinars bringing together people with lived experience, healthcare professionals and experts to explore different aspects of palliative care. These sessions aimed to share practical information, promote conversations and highlight the supports available to help people live as well as possible.
You can watch these recorded sessions below.
Palliative Care ‘It’s Not What You Think’; Providing information and supports about future care planning (Think Ahead), palliative care and bereavement resources for people living with life limiting – Wednesday 9 September 2026 13.00 – 14.00
For Palliative Care Week, the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) in collaboration with AIIHPC presented a webinar open to healthcare professionals and the public.
Speakers:
‘Addressing barriers to accessing palliative and end of life care for communities who may be underserved’ – Thursday 10 September 4 – 5pm 2026 (AIIHPC and Public Health Agency)
The webinar provides an overview of recent developments within Northern Ireland and beyond which aim to remove the barriers to accessing palliative and end of life care for underserved communities.
David Kavanagh (Programme Manager, AIIHPC) provides an overview of the ‘Scoping Report – Access to palliative and end of life care for people with learning disability and people experiencing homelessness in Northern Ireland’ recently published by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care in partnership with the Public Health Agency and Palliative Care in Partnership, Northern Ireland. The report’s findings reinforce the importance of flexible, relationship-based approaches, workforce support, accessible communication and stronger cross-sector working. The findings also demonstrate the value of building on existing community strengths and partnerships.
Mark Pedder, Inclusive Health Palliative CNS, Keech Hospice Care, Luton, provides an overview of Keech Hospice’s innovative approach to engaging with and supporting people experiencing homelessness.
Alison Craig, Occupational Therapist, Northern Health & Social Care Trust, provides an update on the ‘No Barriers Here’ pilot project in Northern Ireland. No Barriers Here is an arts-based workshop designed to support more inclusive conversations about palliative care and advance care planning, particularly with communities who may experience barriers to accessing services. This includes people with learning disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, dementia, migrant communities and other marginalised groups.
Sally Convery, Nurse Consultant for Palliative and End of Life Care, Public Health Agency participated in the panel discussion.
The Scoping Report can be accessed here.
Earlier Than You Think: The Power of Children’s Palliative Care Webinar- LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice and AIIHPC
The webinar provides an overview of children’s palliative care and choices families have in caring for a child with a life limiting condition as well as an overview of LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospices services. The case studies focus on the challenges that are faced by the families and professionals involved in supporting these choices with the focus of early referrals enabling relationship building.
Speakers: Clare Daly, Children’s Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist at LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice. Clare’s special interest are AYA, symptom management and oncology.
Ciara Mc Elhinney, Clinical Nurse Manager 2 at LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice. Ciara’s special interest are children’s palliative care within the hospice inpatient setting, with a particular interest in patient safety and quality improvement through compassionate, collaborative and family-centred care.
Sophie Ronan, Clinical Nurse Manager 2 at LauraLynn Leinster Community Nursing Team, Sophie’s special interests are paediatric community-based palliative care and perinatal palliative care.
