Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Online

Worldwide Hospice and Palliative Care Online is published bi-monthly by Hospice Information in collaboration with the UK forum for hospice and palliative care worldwide, which are part of the national charity, Help the Hospices. Hospice Information - the UK and international resource on hospice and palliative care - is a joint venture between St Christopher's Hospice and Help the Hospices.

2.1 World Health Day April 7, 2007

World Health Day, (http://www.euro.who.int/). 7 April marks the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). This year the theme is international health security and WHO urges governments, organisations and businesses to "invest in health, build a safer future".

2.2 National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada  May 7 - 13, 2007

http://www.chpca.net

2.3 National Palliative Care Week Australia - May 20-26

http://www.pallcare.org.au 

3.1  Seeking volunteer doctor and nurse for placement in Nigeria and/or hospice twinning

Zaria Palliative Care Centre in Nigeria seeks a palliative care trained doctor and nurse for a two week volunteer placement (either together or separately) in the first quarter of 2007 for assistance in teaching and management of terminally ill patients. Accommodation, food and transportation to and from the airport will be provided but volunteers must cover their own return air fares. Services include counselling, day care and home care delivered by volunteer doctors, nurses, medical social workers, chaplain, imam and community volunteers. We also wish to develop a Twinning Link with a team in an English-speaking country. With the recent inauguration of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Nigeria, this is an exciting time in the development of palliative care in Nigeria. Please join us as a volunteer or consider a 'hospice twinning'! If you can help please contact Dr T A Olasinde of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria, Nigeria; email: taolasinde@yahoo.co.uk

3.2  Cayman Islands HospiceCare seeks nurse

There is an exciting opportunity coming up for an experienced palliative care nurse in the Cayman Islands. Cayman HospiceCare is an established charity looking for a senior nurse to take clinical and managerial lead of their small hospice-at-home service. If you would like to get more background from a CNS who has worked there, please contact Kath Hagan (now at St Christopher's Hospice in London) at k.hagan@stchristophers.org.uk  or contact the manager, John Borgwardt, direct at: chc@candw.ky 

3.3 Volunteer Fundraising Director needed at CanSupport in New Delhi, India. 

CanSupport, a local NGO dedicated to palliative care, is seeking a fundraiser with 5 years' experience and strong, interpersonal and writing skills willing to work in a voluntary capacity. Key activities will include: strategy; developing and managing a database of individual donors; relationship building;   proposal development and writing; events management; fostering partnerships with government ministries, NGOs and private sector, and organising donor visits. Although we are willing to cover transportation costs incurred locally on the job, the successful applicant will need to cover costs of all travel to India and the cost of accommodation. If interested, please contact Harmala Gupta at: cansup_india@hotmail.com

3.4 Priest/teacher seeks volunteer assignment with children's hospice in Africa

I am an Anglican Priest in England. For the last 18 years I have been in the Church with appointments in The Middle East and London. Before being ordained I taught for several years in primary schools in London and Bahrain, followed by three years teaching religious education in a senior school. I am now keen to take a three months' sabbatical as a volunteer and would  welcome the chance to use my skills as a priest and teacher in a children's hospice in Africa, and perhaps attend the African Palliative Care Conference in Nairobi. I am prepared to pay my own travel and accommodation expenses. If you can help, please contact Ian C Thurston, email: IanThurston@aol.com or Tel: + 44 (0)1538 753337.

3.5 Jobs - Opportunities in Uganda and Australia

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4.1 Trek Sri Lanka: 26 October - 6 November 2007

Help the Hospices, in conjunction with Kuoni Travel, is organising a 10 day trek and whitewater rafting challenge in Sri Lanka. The trip includes around 80 kilometres of hiking, grade IV rapids, a challenging climb of the UNESCO-listed rock fortress at Sigiriya, and a visit to the Shantha Sevana Hospice near Colombo. Participants are asked to raise £2600 in sponsorship on behalf of Help the Hospices, which includes a contribution to the Shantha Sevana Hospice. For more details, please visit http://www.hospicerunners.org.uk   or email Geoff Watson at: g.watson@helpthehospices.org.uk 

4.2 Palliative care comes to Dominica

(Source: Ross University press release, March 2007)
Ministry of Health statistics show that from 1990 to 2000 cancer was the second leading cause of death in Dominica, in the Caribbean. For many cancer patients who present in advanced stages of the disease the only treatment may be pain relief and palliative care. To help meet the need for health care workers who can supply this type of care, Ross University joined with the Ministry of Health to sponsor a basic palliative care course. Speakers included Dr Dingle Spence (Palliative Medicine Consultant) from the Hope Institute in Kingston, Jamaica and Dr Christian Furman from the University of Louisville in the US, as well as faculty members from Ross University and the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH). The course, held on February 23-24, attracted around 70 delegates, including hospital consultants, PMH junior physicians and Ross faculty members. Among the health care workers who attended were district medical officers, district nurses and nurse practitioners, community and mental health workers and pharmacists from villages across the country. For a copy of the full press release please contact Marilyn Sullivan at: MSullivan@rossmed.edu.dm For more information about the start of palliative care in Dominica please contact Kathleen Lamb or Dr Diana Callender at: espwadonmnik@gmail.com

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5.1 CanSupport/Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital (AIIMS) 6th Foundation Course in Palliative Care, India

Harmala Gupta, Founder/Director of CanSupport writes:

On 17-18 February around 80 doctors, nurses and social workers learnt about the basics of palliative care from experienced practitioners from home and abroad. Dr Ram E. Rajagopalan, Head of the Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sundaram Medical Foundation, Chennai, stressed the need for critical care specialists and palliative care teams to work together to ensure a smooth transition to palliative care in the critical care setting. He called for better communication between doctors, patients and their relatives in ICUs, and for the inclusion of palliative care personnel on the treating team right from the start. He hoped that guidelines produced by the Society of Critical Care Medicine in India would lead to a change in practice. Other topics included pain control, symptom management and communication, with an emphasis on breaking bad news and team-working. There were also in-depth group discussions facilitated by Dr Michael Minton and Dr Mhoira Leng, palliative care physicians from the UK with an interest in India. Sr Agnes Panikulam, CanSupport home care counsellor, delivered masterly presentations on grief, bereavement and spiritual issues. Sophiamma Sam, CanSupport, led a session for nurses assisted by Sue Varvel (Iain Rennie Hospice, UK) who introduced the Liverpool Care Pathway. Also participating in this session was Ruth Wooldridge, who assisted in the setting up of the CanSupport home care programme. For the volunteers the highpoint was an interaction with Liz Minton who runs an information, drop in and help line service for cancer patients, 'Maggie's Oxford', at the Churchill Hospital, UK. In the concluding panel discussion oncologists highlighted the need to integrate palliative care into the overall management of cancer patients, and for nurses and doctors to spend quality time with patients and their families. The fact that participants were working in HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer's and other geriatric disorders further endorsed that palliative care is applicable to all those with non-communicable and chronic diseases with a limited life expectancy. Now is the time, it was felt, to invest in care that is affordable, appropriate and meaningful for those who often have to struggle alone. For more information on CanSupport, please contact Harmala Gupta at: cansup_india@hotmail.com

News from the National, Pan-national and Regional Associations

5.3  Sub-Saharan Africa - Launch of Diana Legacy Fund

(Source: Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA) quarterly report, April 2007)

The Diana Legacy Fund, named in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, will be launched on 15 May, 2007 in San Diego, USA, with Archbishop Desmond Tutu as guest speaker. The new fund, established to support programmes that encourage and sustain hospice and palliative care in sub-Saharan Africa, will support the work of FHSSA including its innovative partnering initiative that links US hospices with hospice and palliative care programmes in 12 African countries. You can read the quarterly report and find out more about the FHSSA at http://www.nhpco.org  (Web tip: click on the FHSSA logo to the right of the screen). 

5.4  USA - New research finds patient do live longer under hospice care

(Source: NHPCO press release, 21 March, 2007)

A new study published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management reports that hospice care may prolong the lives of some terminally ill patients. Among the patient populations studied, the mean survival was 29 days longer for hospice patients than for non-hospice patients. The study, sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), was conducted by NHPCO researchers in collaboration with the consulting and actuarial firm, Milliman, Inc. You can download the full report from the NHPCO website. 

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6.1  Lord Crisp's report: how the UK could support health in poor countries

A new report, Global Health Partnership: the UK contribution to health in developing countries, written by Lord Crisp and commissioned by the Prime Minister, was published on 13 February. The report explains how the UK's experience and knowledge in health could support developing countries. Key recommendations include: assisting developing countries in training more health workers, through an NHS scholarship scheme; scaling up training and education of health workers; piloting an e-Bay-type Global Health Exchange to provide people, skills, equipment and books; creating a Global Health Partnership - a 'one-stop information shop' for individuals and health organisations; and supporting health staff  who volunteer to work in developing countries by protecting their jobs and pension continuity. Lord Crisp said: ".this is a two-way process. UK health professionals have much to learn from working with people in developing countries. Building stronger relationships across the globe will also stand the UK in good stead in a changing and risky world." The full report is available from the website of the Department for International Development or The Tropical Health and Education Trust (THET) http://www.thet.org.uk

6.2  Palliative care on the agenda at Cancer Control in sub-Saharan Africa meeting

Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, Executive Director of the African Palliative Care Association, will be speaking about palliative care at this important meeting in London in early May. Over 100 delegates will be attending, including 20 representatives from African Health Ministries.

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7.1 Help the Hospices' International Grants Programme

Help the Hospices is pleased to announce that the 2007 international grants programme is now open. The aim of the programme is to increase and improve the provision of palliative care in resource-poor countries through the support of education and training programmes for professionals and to support the development and provision of palliative care projects in these countries. Further details and application forms are now available.

7.2  Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria - Call for proposals for Round 7 - deadline 4 July

You can download the Call for Proposals and related Guidelines from the Global Fund website (web tip: click the green button on the right hand side of the screen) and to find contact information for the people in your Country Co-ordinating Mechanism (CCM), who will be putting together proposals for your country.

7.3 Call for proposals: Women and Multiple Discrimination

Think creatively and apply for a grant from the Women's Program of the Open Society Institute! Does your palliative care organisation run an innovative project that links women's rights strategies to raise awareness about women's multiple discrimination? For example, caregivers who lose their jobs because they have to stay home to take care of their sick husbands or children; girl children who lose their rights to attend school because they must stay at home to provide care; women with AIDS who have no access to opioids for pain management; female Roma persons who have no access to health care services. Deadline for applications: May 15, 2007. More information on the Open Society Institute's website: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/women

7.4 Call for proposals - Albania, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Tanzania, Ukraine and Vietnam

The Open Society Institute's International Palliative Care Initiative is pleased to announce a funding programme to facilitate palliative care in cancer care. A two-year grant will be available to a cancer centre, institution or general hospital, with a focused oncology programme, to support the salary of a clinical palliative care physician to develop a palliative care programmme. Applications may only be submitted from organisations and countries listed above. Please contact Kiera Hepford at: khepford@sorosny.org for an application form. Application deadline: June 1, 2007
 

7.5  The Firelight Foundation offers support for orphans and vulnerable children

The Firelight Foundation, a US-based organisation, aims to support and advocate for the needs and rights of children who are orphaned or affected by HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa. Some useful resources are available to download from the website: http://www.firelightfoundation.org/ including an advocacy tool, The Promise of a Future: Strengthening Family and Community Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, and From faith to action, a resource for faith-based groups and donors seeking to help children and families affected by HIV/AIDS. A grant-making programme is also available but is mainly limited to charitable organisations that are based in Africa and which are working with orphans and vulnerable children in Lesotho, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia or Zimbabwe. For news of future grants programmes please visit the website.

7.6  The Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarships for UK-based nurses

British and commonwealth nurses who are currently registered with Nursing Midwifery Council and working in the UK are invited to apply for the following grants:
 

The Band Trust Research Scholarships 2007-2008 

Available if your study involves a course in research methods, or an evidence-based practice module or a research-based component of a graduate programme, or a research dissertation. Closing date 15 June, 2007.

Travel Scholarships for Registered Nurses and Midwives 2008

The study may be carried out in the UK, in an overseas country or countries, or a combination of both. Closing date: 17 August 2007.

For full details of both scholarships please email: admin@florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk or visit the website http://www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk  (Web tip: choose Research or Travel Scholarships as appropriate).    

7.7 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Palliative Care Grants 2007

ESMO offers special grants for oncologists or oncology fellows seeking additional experience in palliative care research, allowing recipients to spend at least one month of observation and research at one of the ESMO Designated Centers of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care. For more information and application process, including the criteria, please check the ESMO web site. Deadline for applications: 1 June 2007.

7.8 ESMO Centres of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care Awards

The ESMO Designated Centers of Integrated Oncology and Palliative Care accreditation program is an incentive programme in which cancer centres can receive special recognition for achieving a high standard of integration of medical oncology and palliative care. More information is available from the   ESMO website. Deadline for applications: 15 April 2007.                     

8.1  The ten leading causes of death

(Source: World Health Organization (WHO) website accessed 26 March, 2007. Fact Sheet No. 310, February 2007)

A new, free fact sheet is available to download from the World Health Organization (WHO) website: http://www.who.int detailing the ten leading causes of death by broad income group 2002. As well as vital statistics, there is also an overview of deaths across the globe, death trends by age and a useful primer on major causes of death.

8.2 United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS invites nominations for NGO delegates: Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe

The position of NGO delegates on the UNAIDS Programme Co-ordinating Board is important to ensure effective inclusion of community voices in the key global policy forum for HIV and AIDS. For more information please visit http://www.unaids.org  (Web tip: choose Civil Society and NGO/Civil Society participation in the PCB0.

8.3  UNAIDS/WHO AIDS Epidemic Update: December 2006

The annual AIDS epidemic update reports on the latest developments in the global AIDS epidemic with maps and regional summaries are now available at: http://www.UNAIDS.org in PDF format in English, French, Russian, German and Spanish.

8.4 PEPFAR - The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

The power of partnerships: third annual report to congress on PEPFAR (2007) is now available.

9.1  Free online - Special Section: Palliative Care as a Public Health Issue in the Developing World

The Journal of Public Health, Volume 28, Issue 1 (2007), has dedicated a special section to palliative care in the developing world including commentaries and articles from leading practitioners in Uganda and Nigeria, a 'world tour' of palliative care strategic highlights and an article that introduces the topic of "Palliative care in developing countries" into the specialist public health literature to raise awareness and stimulate debate among public health professionals and health policy makers. The section concludes with an account from the Journal's editor, Phyllis Freeman, of her visit to Hospice Africa in Kampala. The Journal has kindly provided free access to this section of its website.

9.2 The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund releases strategic plan 2007-2012

The strategic plan, released on 28 February, includes a section on the Palliative Care Initiative which describes how the Fund is committed to spending up to £10 million to promote the scale-up of palliative care in Africa. The desired outcome is that palliative care is accepted as an essential part of, and integrated into, the care and treatment of people with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. Read the full report at: http://www.theworkcontinues.org or contact: memorial.fund@memfund.org.uk to request a printed copy.

9.3  Hope at Home: Caring for family with AIDS

Hope at Home: Caring for family with AIDS, published by World Relief (http://www.wr.org) is a useful booklet, well illustrated, and available in PDF format in English, French, Kiswahili, Kinyarwandan, Lango and Chinese. An updated version is planned. To obtain a PDF copy, please contact Carol Oyieko at: coyieko@wr.org

9.4 Global tuberculosis epidemic levelling off: new report 

(Source: World Health Organization (WHO) press release 22 March 2007)

The worldwide tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has levelled off for the first time since it was declared a public health emergency in 1993. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report , released on 22 March by WHO, says that the TB incidence rate peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005. But extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), HIV/AIDS and other obstacles are still hindering progress in controlling the epidemic. For more information and related links please visit: http://www.who.int 

10.1 Upcoming events - UK Forum AGM and Conference October 4, 2007

The UK forum will hold its AGM and Conference during Help the Hospices' major conference, Hospice the Heart of End of Life Care. UK forum members, and anyone with an interest in international palliative care, are welcome. More information from Louise Isherwood at: l.isherwood@helpthehospices.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7520 8209.

10.2 Past events - Training International Trainers

10.3  About the UK forum for hospice and palliative care worldwide

The UK forum aims to collaborate and share experience with UK and overseas agencies involved with delivering hospice and palliative care worldwide. Membership is free and available to all individuals and organisations in the UK with links overseas in hospice and palliative care. Associate membership is available to all individuals and organisations involved in palliative care based abroad. There are presently over 200 UK and worldwide members. For further information on joining and the activities of the Forum, please contact Claire Morris at: c.morris@helpthehospices.org.uk or call +44 (0)20 7520 8250.

10.4   About Hospice Information

Hospice Information, a joint venture between St Christopher's Hospice and Help the Hospices, is a UK and international resource on hospice and palliative care. We work closely with the UK forum and the international team at Help the Hospices for which we provide the information remit. Hospice Information offers a comprehensive enquiry service including: free electronic news bulletins, fact sheets, Hospice Information Bulletin magazine, website, national and international directories, 'Starter Packs' for new overseas groups or those wishing to volunteer,  a 'Twinning' Pack and professional contacts. Last year we dealt with over 8,000 enquiries, of which around one third related to international palliative care. We welcome enquiries - however big or small!

We're also delighted to welcome visitors by appointment at our offices at St Christopher's Hospice or at Help the Hospices. Please visit our website at: http://www.hospiceinformation.info or contact us at: info@hospiceinformation.info

10.5 Hospice Information Subscription Service

Through our subscription service and circulation of WHPCO, Hospice Information is in contact with palliative care workers in over 120 countries. If you'd like to feel part of the wider hospice and palliative care community please consider joining us. You can sign up for free to WHPCO or, if you'd like to receive many more  publications and other benefits free of charge, please consider taking out a full subscription.

In the past two months we have been delighted to welcome many new subscribers from across the world and to welcome back old ones too. Amongst the new national palliative care associations to join are the Palliative Care Association of Zambia (PCAZ), the All Ukrainian Council for Patients' Rights and Safety and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association of Nigeria. We've also recently had the pleasure to meet in person some of our new and old subscribers from Argentina, Hawaii, Germany, Oman, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania and the USA.

Subscription is available to individuals and organisations and is free to anyone in, or working with, a resource-poor country. Subscription is also free to full-time students and anyone who is currently unwaged. If you are interested in joining us, or if you would like to check your subscription status, please contact Vicki Stewart: vicki@hospiceinformation.info 

10.6  Hospice Information Bulletin out now

The March edition of Hospice Information Bulletin has now been published and sent to all our subscribers. Alongside articles from UK hospices and research news, international features include Professor Olaitan Soyannwo on Nigeria; the OSI International Palliative Care Initiative; twinning links with palliative care services in Sarajevo/UK and a review of Hospice and Palliative Care in Africa (Oxford University Press, 2006). You can now sign up for the new Hospice Information Bulletin Alert service and receive a content preview of the articles featured in the Bulletin. This alert will be delivered to your inbox prior to publication of each issue.

11.1  Re-launch of PaedPalLit

ACT's online research database PaedPalLit has now been re-launched in a more easily searchable format. To view the new resource visit http://www.act.org.uk 

12.1 What are you doing on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on 6 October, 2007?

With just six months to go have you planned your event? If you need ideas and inspiration to get you started please visit http://www.worldday.org  

Have you registered your concert with Voices for Hospices (the official fundraising event of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day)? If not, do please register now at http://www.voicesforhospices.org 

To celebrate children's palliative care, Rosetta Life is collaborating with children's hospices worldwide to create an online musical jam. The Children's Songrooms project http://www.thesongrooms.org  enables people to mix music created by children in hospices around the world. You can listen to how the project evolved.

Many different types of international, national and local fundraising and awareness-raising events are anticipated, including an international photography competition, the publication of a report into access to opiates, sponsored walks, exhibitions, celebrations, rallies and professional conferences.

Please get involved in World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2007

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13.2 September 7-9, 2007 - Children's Hospice International 18th World Congress, Singapore

Delegates will share information and insight about caring for children with life-threatening conditions and learn about the latest trends in paediatric palliative and hospice care. For more information please visit: http://www.chionline.org   

13.3 September 13, 2007 - Palliative Care Research Society Scientific Meeting, Oxford, UK

The theme of this meeting is end of life care which will include presentations of up-to-date peer-reviewed research which may be of interest to a wider international audience. Call for abstracts from 1 April 2007.  For information please visit: http://www.pcrs.org.uk 

13.4 February 5- 6,  2008 - Second International Workshop on Community Participation in Palliative Care, Kerala

This workshop will be concentrating on the need, methods, quality assurance and evaluation of home care programmes from the point of view of the developing world. Contact: The Workshop Secretariat, International Workshop on Community Participation, Institute of Palliative Medicine, Medical College, Calicut 673008, Calicut, Kerala. Tel: +91 495 235 4166. Fax: + 91 495 235 4897. Email: pain@vsnl.com 

13.5 February 8 - 10, 2008 - XV International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care, Kerala, India

For information and registration email: kochipallcon@rediffmail.com

13.6  April 29 - May 1, 2008 - The 7th Palliative Care Congress, Glasgow, UK

Organised jointly by The Palliative Care Research Society, The RCN Palliative Nursing Group and the Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland who hope to capture not only the challenging aspects of providing palliative care in an ever evolving healthcare arena but to provide a programme that will appeal to a multi-professional audience from Britain, Europe and countries farther afield. Call for papers opens May 25, 2007. For information please visit: http://www.pccongress.org.uk

13.7 May 28 - 31, 2008 - Research Forum of the European Association for Palliative Care, Norway

For further information please visit: http://www.pccongress.org.uk/ 

13.8 August 17 - 22,  2008 - World Congress on Pain, Glasgow, UK

Sponsored by: The International Association for the Study of Pain For more information and registration please visit: http://www.iasp-pain.org

13.10 June 17-24, 2007 The 2007 EFIC-European Pain School, Siena, Italy

Details and registration at: http://www.unisi.it/pain-school/  Application deadline: May 3, 2007

13.11 May 21-25 and November 12-16, 2007 Multi-professional week in palliative care, St Christopher's Hospice, London

Five days of intensive tutoring in clinical palliative and end of life care. This established course provides an opportunity for health and social care professionals from a variety of settings and countries to work together on exploring the key principles of palliative care and multi-professional working. For more details, please visit http://www.stchristophers.org.uk/MPWeek or email: education@stchristophers.org.uk

13.13 September 19-21, 2007 - 2nd APCA Palliative Care Conference, Nairobi, Kenya

Commenting on the conference theme, APCA's Executive Director, Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell, remarked: 'In the development and provision of palliative care in Africa it is important that we focus on the individual client and their family that needs and receives care.

 Hence the focus of the conference is 'Palliative care in Africa - Making it real.'  The conference will celebrate the work of palliative care practitioners, educationalists and researchers in Africa and learning from each other by sharing best practices, real world examples of what works and practical suggestions for the implementation of new ideas. Deadline for call for abstracts: April 27, 2007. For further information, please visit the conference website at: http://www.apca2007nairobi.com or email: thefinestdetail@apca2007nairobi.com

13.14 International Education Days at St Christopher's, London

As part of St Christopher's 40th Anniversary several International Education Days are being held throughout the year. Our German and Italian Days are now fully booked but places on French and Scandinavian events are still available.

Octobre 11-12, 2007 - Colloque Francophone

Langue officielle du colloque: Français. Le programme comprend divers exposés portant sur le travail de St Christopher's, aussi bien qu'explorer des principes et de la pratique des soins palliatifs dans d'autres lieux. Presidé par Dr Bernard Thill, Luxembourg, avec la participation de l'équipe de St Christopher's et d'autres centres des soins palliatifs du Royaume Uni. Veuillez visiter http://www.stchristophers.org.uk ou contactez education@stchristophers.org.uk

November 2, 2007 - Scandinavian Day: innovations and research

A chance to update on research and recent clinical developments at St Christopher's, meet senior staff, visit the hospice and network with colleagues across the Nordic countries. The day will be chaired by Dr Carl-Johan Furst, Stockholms Sjukhem Palliative Care Unit, Sweden, and speakers will include senior clinicians from St Christopher's. Please contact: education@stchristophers.org.uk 

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Russian websites

This month's Hot Tip comes from Patricia Cockrell, a member of the UK Forum Management Committee, who has been searching out Russian language resources.

http://www.pallcare.ru   set up by Dr Elena Vvedenskaia this site offers information in Russian about palliative care with articles on ethics, law, education and details of forthcoming conferences and links to other sites. It lists 11 hospice services in Moscow and 38 in other parts of Russia. Some pages are translated into English.

http://www.hospice.ru  - the Moscow Hospice site offers information about hospice care, symptom control, medical ethics, skills and the people involved including volunteers; there is a library, latest news, the history of hospice, useful links, a list of other hospices in Russia, vacancies and dedications. There is also a guest book and an online consultation service.

http://www.hivrussia.net - this is the website of the Federal Aids Centre, the Russian Scientific Research Centre for the Study of AIDS. Objectives of the Centre include an epidemiological overview of HIV infections, prophylactic and containment measures and methods of clinical diagnosis and treatment.

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16.1 Innovation Gallery - global presentations

The Danish website Hospice Innovations DK invites you to submit a virtual tour of your hospice for inclusion on their site. They aim to present 15-25 presentations from across the world. To take up this free offer please contact Ole Bang at: fundraiser@hospicefonden.dk

16.2 World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General announces senior team

The WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, has named her senior team to lead the health programmes, or "clusters", at WHO headquarters. Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus continues as WHO Assistant Director-General for Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health (NMH). Dr Chan announced a revised structure in order to realign WHO's structure with the six core areas she has identified to take WHO's work forward: health development, health security, health systems capacity, evidence and information, partnership, and performance. Read more about the new structure at WHO headquarters at http://www.whoint.org

16.3 Wanted - fluent Russian/English-speaking palliative care teachers

Fluent Russian/English-speaking qualified palliative care and infectious disease physicians are required to teach with OSI's International Palliative Care Initiative on palliative care in AIDS educational courses in Russia, and other Russian speaking countries. Please send curriculum vitae via email to: Khepford@sorosny.org

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17.1 Wanted - sample policy for volunteers working with patients at home

We are trying to develop a policy concerning the use of volunteers in patients' homes. In particular, we would like to get our volunteers more involved in socialising with patients at home, doing the shopping for them, etc. We would like to develop a document which outlines the rules, rights and obligations of volunteers and patients which could be signed by both the volunteer and the patient. If anyone has such a policy that we could adapt for our hospice in Romania please contact me, Diana Tigau, Volunteers Co-ordinator, Hospice Casa Sperantei, email: dianat@hospice.bv.astral.ro

17.2 Breaking Bad News by Rob Buckman - does anyone have a copy?

The team at Island Hospice, Zimbabwe, would love to have a copy of this book but sadly it is now out of print. Does anyone have a spare copy that they would be willing to donate? If you can help, please contact Val Maasdorp, verval@mweb.co.zw  or Dr Dickson Chifamba at:  island@africaonline.co.zw 

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