2019 annual report - palliative care
SAPC Palliative Care SIG annual report 2019
The 2018 World Health Organisation Declaration of Astana specifically listed palliative care as key to the role and identity of primary care physicians. The SAPC Palliative Care SIG is open to all SAPC members with an interest in palliative care, with the overarching aim to stimulate palliative care research in primary care and to consolidate a sound academic evidence base for palliative care in the community. The development of primary palliative care is an area that needs urgent attention, as highlighted in our BMJ Editorial in 2019:
Mitchell S, Tan A, Moine S, Dale J, Murray SA. Primary palliative care needs urgent attention. Br Med J 2019; 355: I1827
The SAPC Palliative Care SIG met at the 2019 Scientific Meeting, where we reviewed our objectives. It was agreed that the SIG should consider its aims and objectives and ensure that they reflect the need for primary palliative care research in the context of workforce pressures and the increasing needs of our population, with multi-morbidity, frailty and complex needs. There were concerns that considering palliative care as a distinct entity, we risk adding to fragmented care, and there was a need to link in with other SIGs.
Objectives of the group
- To facilitate palliative care research within primary care, particularly collaborative studies
- To identify key research questions in the provision of palliative care in the community, for both malignant and non-malignant illnesses
- To assist each other and discuss methodological issues in carrying out our research
- To hence improve the quality and quantity of end-of-life research conducted in the community
- To be a resource to the SAPC executive when dealing with issues relating to palliative care