The Committee has issued a call for written views which will run from 2 July to 12 August 2015.
Organisations and individuals are invited to submit written views to the Committee in relation to the inquiry remit. Those submitting views should feel free to address the issues in whatever manner they prefer, but it would be appreciated if they could attempt to address the questions set out below—
- What has been your experience in terms of access to palliative and end of life care?
- How could it be ensured that access to palliative and end of life care is equitable and available in all areas and for all types of terminal illnesses?
- Can you identify any areas in terms of access to palliative and end of life care that should be focused on as priorities?
- When is the right time to begin discussing options for Palliative Care, who should be party to that discussion, who should initiate it and where should it take place?
- What works well in discussing palliative and end of life care and how is good practise communicated? Where do the challenges remain?
- What is the role of anticipatory care plans in supporting Palliative Care discussions and how can their uptake be improved?
- How should information about Palliative Care be made available to patients and their family during any initial discussions and how easily available is this information?
- What training and support is provided to Health and Care staff on discussing Palliative Care with patients and families and are there any areas for improvement?
- How do Health and Care organisations ensure that the discussions about palliative and end of life care are taking place at the right time?
- What are the challenges in recording and documenting Palliative Care priorities and how well are those priorities communicated between different health and care providers?
How to submit your evidence
Before making a submission, please read our Policy on Treatment of Written Evidence by Subject and Mandatory Committees.
Please send your views on the Bill by no later than 12 August.
Responses should be sent, wherever possible, electronically and preferably in MS Word format to:
[email protected]
Hard copy responses may be sent to:
Health and Sport Committee, T3.60, Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP
Ideally, responses should be no more than four sides of A4 in length.
All written evidence received may be published by the Parliament and will be treated as a public document. If you wish to submit evidence in confidence or anonymously please read the policy at the link above or contact Jane Williams, details below.
What happens next?
The Committee will be taking oral evidence in September from organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland and Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. Further selection of witnesses will be informed by the written evidence received.
Contact
Should you require alternative formats of this information or further assistance in making a written submission to the Committee, please do not hesitate to contact the clerking team of the Committee.
For Committee information, contact: Jane Williams on 0131 348 5210
For further information, the media contact is: Kirsty Rimmer
For public information enquiries, contact: 0131 348 5000
For general enquiries, contact: 0845 278 1999 (local call rate), email: [email protected]
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Health and Sport Committee Convener Duncan McNeil MSP and Deputy Convener Bob Doris MSP talking to staff and service users at the Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow as they launch the committees inquiry into palliative and end of life care.
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Health and Sport Committee Convener Duncan McNeil MSP speaking to staff and service users at the Marie Cure Hospice, Glasgow.
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Bill Whiland (R) and Harry Bunch (L) are pictured at the Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow. Both Bill and Harry's wives attended the hospice before their deaths.
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Health and Sport Committee Convener Duncan McNeil MSP (2nd R) and Deputy Convener Bob Doris MSP (2nd Left) visited The Marie Curie Hospice, Glasgow. They met Bill Whiland (left) and Harry Bunch (right) whoes wives attended the hospice at the end of their lives.
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Health and Sport Committee Deputy Convener Bob Doris MSP speaking to service user Jane McNicol shortly after she completed her Tai Chi class.