Georg Bollig, Marius Ciurlionis and Boris Knopf

Two EUPCA students and one alumnus are running an amazing project: Last Aid.

Most people want to die at home. Therefore the public should have knowledge and skills in end-of-life care. Between 2014-2015 pilot courses have been given in Norway, Denmark and Germany that have shown the feasibility and acceptance of the course.

The main goals of the current project were to establish an international Last Aid working group and to reach consensus on the curriculum for an international Last Aid Course.

European organisations such as palliative care organisations, health-services, the church were invited to enter the project working group. Each participating country was allowed to send up to two delegates to the meetings of the working group. The Last Aid Course curriculum from the pilot phase was reviewed and adapted by the working group members from seven countries. Consensus on an international Last Aid Course curriculum has been reached. The international presentation is now finished and work with translation into different languages as well as education of Last Aid Course instructors is ongoing.

For the future the inclusion of more countries is planned. Meetings of the international Last Aid working group shall be held with regular intervals of 1-2 years. In Germany, the second national symposium on Last Aid took place in October 2018.

The concept has won prizes and has been invited to Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Assoc. Professor Dr. med. Georg Bollig, founder of the Last Aid Courses and leader of the international Last Aid working group: “The participation in the EUPCA course has lead to a progress of the the Last Aid project and has been a great help to distribute Last Aid Courses to other European countries.“

We are very happy to hear about the great development of the project as well as the cooperation between EUPCA participants and alumni!

Latest News:

The International Last Aid working Group published an article about it recently. Read it here.

They also established a task force together with EAPC: https://www.eapcnet.eu/eapc-groups/task-forces/last-aid

More information can be found on the homepage: www.lastaid.info or by contacting Georg: georg.bollig@rsyd.dk

Adriana Caruntu, one of our former participants who is the head of the St. Nectarias Palliative Care Center in Bucharest, Romania, had the idea of implementing a new concept in palliative care. Adriana explains:

“Starting with April 17, 2018, the new concept has been introduced within the St. Nectarias Palliative Care Center, to care for patients with ‘Geneva Lavender Water’. This innovative product has great effects in skin care for patients, especially those who are after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, when the skin is usually stiff and dry. The lavender water is offered free of charge by Mrs. Cristina Militoiu from the lavender garden in Prahova County.

I chose ‘Geneva’ for the lavender water, the place where I discovered the use of this product in palliative care [Adriana has practiced at the European Academy of Palliative Care at Bellerive University Hospital for Palliative Care in Geneva, Switzerland]. I dedicate this innovative care project to patients on October 13, 2018, when international palliative care is celebrated – as a sign of gratitude and appreciation for my collaboration with specialists from several European countries and especially with my teachers EUPCA who helped me become a good professional and a leader.”

The second course week of the European Palliative Care Academy took place in the middle of March. The EUPCA participants spend one week at the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s College London.

The focus of the London week was the research module of the course. Dr Jonathan Koffman, Dr Catherine Evans, and other experts instructed the emerging palliative care leaders on many crucial aspects of research. The Cicely Saunders Institute is known for its cutting-edge research in the field of palliative care which made it the perfect surrounding for the EUPCA participants to develop their knowledge and skill base in the subject of research which is essential for promoting high quality palliative care practices.

The module was introduced with a debate to emphasize the importance of evidence. In following sessions study and questionnaire designs were explained, and participants learned how to plan and conduct a study including quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Ethical aspects, the development of complex interventions, and methods of critically appraising research papers were also discussed. One participant said: “It is very useful to show how theory and practice are related”.

The EUPCA participants also had the chance to visit the St. Christopher’s Hospice as part of the Local Best Practice module. As the first modern hospice ever built it is a place worth visiting for emerging palliative care leaders to get inspired. Participants really enjoyed the session at the Hospice: “Mary’s memories and experiences were really amazing. The environment and all the staff were so friendly and smart.”

During the sessions of the Personal Development module the topics team and self-awareness were discussed.

As participants had started working on their personal projects in September, there were also Project Management sessions with room to discuss and exchange individual progression, problems and funding.

Thanks to everybody who helped making this great course week in London possible!

Juan-Pablo Leiva Santos from Spain participated in the EUPCA leadership course 2015-2017. Within the course he developed a curriculum to improve the resilience of firefighters who are dealing with death and dying on their duty. In a qualitative study he identified needs and resources of firefighters and based a training curriculum on his findings. We are proud to share his publication. Please follow the link to read “Death in the Spanish fire services: a curriculum development study”.

If you click here you can read the EAPC Blog entry, including some pictures, about Juan-Pablo’s project.

We are happy to share the project story of the EUPCA 2015-2017 alumni Joanna John!

The project “Non-medical forms of assistance for terminally ill cancer patients. Wide-range training for volunteers” was provided by Archdiocesean Home’s Hospice bl. John Paul II from September 2015 to February 2017. It was addressed at people without medical experience, but with a strong interest in helping and supporting hospice patients.
The projects main objective was to teach forms and practices for implementing this support, drawing on participants’ individual abilities or even their free time.

Students Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology, University of Silesia, participated in the project’s first module. Here, they could learn to improve their communication with patients in the terminal stage by means of a lecture and a subsequent practical training. A variation of important topics was addressed, including Active Listening, Troubles in Communication, Volunteer Self-Protection and others.
As a next step, participants had the chance to apply their newly gained knowledge in a ward by talking and being with patients. At the end of the module participants had prepared workshops for our hospice’s volunteers with minimum stay of one year. These workshops focused on the communication with patient relatives as well as managing difficult situations. Our volunteers could also use these workshops as a welcome opportunity to exchange their knowledge.

Voluntary Work in Action was the subject of the next two modules. It revolved around educational meetings in kindergartens, schools, parishes etc. in Silesia Voivodeship. We promoted palliative care in these institutions and invited people to become our volunteers in action. Interested people could then participate in fairs, collections and other projects as for example the one of Mrs. Iwona, one of our volunteers. She began her volunteer work by preparing beautiful and unique handicraft paper-daffodils to sell at the fair. By now, she has become a corporate volunteer – as a PKO employee – and helps us cooperate with the PKO Foundation which kindly gave us a donation as well. As indicated above, an important part of our project was the development of manual activities for patients. We used different techniques in our workshops, for example decouphage and artichoke handicraft, among others. This way, we could find out which techniques and materials will be suitable for our patients. This activity drew a lot of support by elderly people who helped us prepare handicrafts for the fair. In the first module, too, elderly people were among those helping out the patients, for example by spending time with them in the ward.

How I can help? Is it a place for me? These questions indicate the general doubt among the people thinking about volunteering in hospice. The reason behind our project was the idea to answer these questions. Therefore, we can show potential candidates a variety of forms to be of help for people in the terminal stage. EUPCA’s project shows how much volunteers support palliative care.

Author: Joanna John, Volunteer coordinator

Adriana Caruntu, participant of the 2015 – 2017 EUPCA Leadership Course, successfully started implementing her Personal Project in Romania. Her aim is to advance palliative care through a psychological counseling curriculum. The training of psychologists working in Palliative Care will improve professionals’ daily activities and patients’ quality of life. Learn more about Adriana and her project.

The first training course based on the psychological counseling curriculum in palliative care has recently ended in Bucharest, Romania. The course was structured into five modules which took place in June and July 2017. Adriana Caruntu was a lecturer in the first module. The second and third module were supported by the psychologist Mrs. Diana Vasile. Mrs. Florentina Nicolescu gave support in the fourth module and Mrs. Luxita Bara in the fifth module, both are psychologists, too. The course was considered a success for both – lecturers and participants.

Adriana says: “I thank my psychologist colleagues at the Institute for Trauma Study and Trauma for getting involved in writing and implementing the project, but also to my EUPCA teachers who have been able to develop my skills and contribute to my evolution as a palliative care specialist, to initiate an innovative project in Romania and last but not least, I would like to thank Mrs. Malina Dumitrescu who recommended me to join the EUPCA.

Many interesting candidates applied for the next course run of the EUPCA Leadership Course. Over the past few weeks, the Steering Committee of the European Palliative Care Academy has carefully reached a decision concerning the next group of emerging palliative care leaders. 20 participants have now been selected. The course will kick off at the end of September with the first course week in Cologne, Germany. Participants will have the first chance to meet each other and the lecturers, receive an introduction into the course weeks to come and make a start on their Personal Project with the Project Management Module. We look forward to welcoming all the new participants and starting the next run of this inspiring course. Please see the timeline for more information about the upcoming course weeks.

We are proud to present you this year’s winner of the Award for Palliative Care Leadership Programmes – and it is not only one but two winners:

Prof. Julia Downing (Uganda) and Leena Pelttari (Austria).

The award was presented at the 15th EAPC World Congress in Madrid by Prof. Philip Larkin on behalf of the EAPC and Prof. Raymond Voltz on behalf of the EUPCA.

About the winners and their programmes:

Prof. Julia Downing serves on the boards of several international NGOs, is Chief Executive of the International Children’s Palliative Care Network and is an Honorary Professor at Makerere University, Kampala, as well as a Visiting Professor at several Universities, and a Honorary Research Fellow with the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care, Policy and Rehabilitation, at King’s College London (England).

Prof. Downing is implementing the Uganda Palliative Care Nurse Leadership Fellowship Programme. This programme develops nurse leaders who will be confident, skilled, resilient and empowered.

It takes place over 18-months, consisting of three one-week intensive training modules in Kampala, Uganda follwed by ongoing mentorship and supervision. The participating nurses are involved in developing and implementing leadership action plans. The 3 modules instruct them in personal development as a leader, how to lead a project and general leadership competencies. Nurses play a key role in the provision of palliative care in Uganda and needs assessments have shown a need for the development of nurse leadership skills.

For more information visit: https://www.ed.ac.uk/global-health/research-projects-communities-of-practice/themes/care-pathways-and-systems/uganda-nurse-leadership-programme

Leena Pelttari is CEO of the umbrella organisation Hospice Austria, serves on the board of the Master of Science in Palliative Care at the Paracelsus Private Medical University and as Co-Chair of the Taskforce for Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care at the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC).

She ist implementing the Master of Science in Palliative Care. This Master’s Programme is an interdisciplinary educational programme offered in different parts of Austria and created in cooperation with the Paracelsus Private Medical University, Hospice Austria, the Austrian umbrella organization for hospice and Palliative Care organizations, and St. Virgil Salzburg.

The main aim of the programme is not only to qualify health and social care professionals in palliative care, management and leadership, but also to develop new institutions and improve existing structures. The Master has been running since 2006 and contributes to futhering the development of palliative care in the German speaking world. Master’s programme is accredited by the agency for quality assurance and accreditation AQ Austria, and they received an Award for Science and Research from Salzburg in 2014.

For more information visit: https://www.ulg-palliativecare.at/