Held during Palliative Care Week 2026, the Palliative Care All Island Practice Conference brought together health and social care professionals, researchers, educators, students, policy makers, people with lived experience, volunteers, and community organisations from across the island of Ireland.
Under the theme of ‘Palliative Care – It’s Not What You Think’, the conference showcased innovative practice, education, quality improvement initiatives, research and lived experience, highlighting the breadth and impact of palliative care across the illness journey.
The programme explored the many dimensions of palliative care and created opportunities for colleagues from different disciplines and services to share learning, make connections and consider new approaches to practice. Contributions also highlighted the experiences and needs of children, young people na d adults receiving palliative care, alongside the perspectives of families and those supporting them.
The conference was funded by the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care and Macmillan Cancer Support, with the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust as a key collaborator.
Minister for Health NI, Robbie Butler, MLA
MND Symposium – Dr Emma Lundy, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust; Lisa Mullin
Evora Hospice Care; Orla Foster, Beaumont Hospital; Donna Lynott, Galway Hospice Foundation; Dr Caroline McLoughlin, Western Health and Social Care Trust
A Position Paper for Rehabilitative Palliative Care: From Evidence to Policy Across the Island of Ireland – Dr Elizabeth Morrow (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland)
Advanced Cancer Online Health & Well-Being Toolkit – Claire Stewart, Public Health Agency
Deprescribing Practices in Dementia End-of-Life Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study of Rates and Influencing Factors Across Two Palliative Inpatient Units – Dr Jasleen Tarrant, Galway Hospice Foundation
Developing an Integrated Pre-Bereavement Support Model for Children and Families Facing Parental Palliative Illness – Rosy Adams, Evora Hospice Care
Changing the Conversation – Panel Discussion ‘Communication Challenges Across Palliative Care’
Chaired by Mel Nugent (AIIHPC)
Panel members: Alison Craig (Northern Health and Social Care Trust – No Barriers Here); Sally Convery (Public Health Agency – Advance Care Planning); Sophie Whitehead (South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust – Churchill Fellowship) and Rebecca Haughan (St Francis Hospice, Dublin – Children and Young People)
A Service Needs analysis for Paediatric Palliative Care Services in the West and North West Region and Service Development – Katie Hill, University College Dublin and Emma Donohue, Sunflower Children’s Hospice Parents Committee
“Not just another report – The Sunflower Children’s Hospice” – Martina Jennings, Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation
Holding hope, enabling choice; collaborative antenatal palliative care – Judith McKibben, Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice
“Palliative Care – It’s Not What You Think”: Co-Producing an eLearning Resource on Grief and Anticipatory Loss for Parents Caring for a Child with a Life-Limiting Condition – Breffni McGuiness, LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice
Misunderstood – ‘Palliative Care Nurses’ Perceptions and Experiences of Clinical Supervision: A Qualitative Study – Deirdre Munro, Galway Hospice Foundation
From Coping Alone to Collective Resilience: Changing the Conversation on Staff Wellbeing in Hospice Care – Emily Murray, Evora Hospice Care
Validating the Coping with Death Scale Short Version (CDS-SV) for Palliative and End-of-Life Care Professionals: A Think-Aloud Study in the UK and Ireland – Sarah Kennedy, Queens University Belfast
What to expect when someone is in the last days and hours of life: Information for families and caregivers – Lesley Rutherford, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Dr Rachel Campbell, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
Heart Failure and Palliative Care in the Community – Dr Andrew Kerr, South Eastern Health and Social Care
From Audit to Implementation: Using Experience-Based Co-Design to Transform Oxygen Care Across Hospice Services – Deirdre Munro and Joan Boult, Galway Hospice Foundation
Hospice Pathfinder to Improve Access to Medicines – Caroline McIvor, Foyle Hospice and Gillian McCorkell, Professional Advisor for Integrated Prescribing, Strategic Planning and Performance Group (SPPG), Northern Ireland
Developing a pilot programme of interprofessional palliative care simulation in the undergraduate setting – Dr Sarah O’Hare, Evora Hospice Care
Just in Case Service, Much More than Medicines! A Qualitative Service Evaluation – Marie Donnelly, Western Health and Social Care Trust
A multi-site initiative for standardising Occupational Therapy palliative care handover pathways – Ciara McHale, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital
Community Specialist Palliative Care Dietetics and Speech and Language Therapy Hospice in reach project – Tracy Haylett, South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
The conference organising committee is made up of representatives from AIIHPC’s member organisations including:
Belfast Health & Social Care Trust
Evora Hospice Services
LauraLynn Ireland’s Children’s Hospice
Public Health Agency
Northern Health & Social Care Trust
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Southern Health & Social Care Trust
South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust
Western Health & Social Care Trust
