OPCARE9 Final Conference, Liverpool
OPCARE9: an EU 7th Framework Collaboration & Support Action grant to optimise research for the care of cancer patients in the last days of life.
The OPCARE9 Conference on 1st March 2011 successfully marked the completion of a multi-national and interdisciplinary European Union funded three-year project involving academics, researchers and clinicians from nine countries across the globe.
This one day key dissemination conference, held at the BT Convention Centre in Liverpool, focused on the highlights and results of the three-year project, which was of interest to health professionals, policy makers and clinical leaders from both the UK and overseas. Key speakers at the conference included :
Professor Lukas Radbruch, President of the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) and chair of the Conference. To see an interview given by Professor Radbruch on the day, please click on the photo.
Professor Sir Howard Newby, Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool - "OPCARE9 is about knowledge transfer - not just from the laboratory to the bedside but from one country to another. It is vital that we continue to share our experience and expertise among European colleagues & further afield to help improve care of the dying globally".
Professor Sir Mike Richards, National Clinical Director of Cancer and End of Life Care at the Department of Health, England - "The work of OPCARE9 has placed emphasis on how different countries and cultures provide care for the dying and how a collaborative approach to research can bring benefits to patients here in the UK and beyond. We need to continue to work between nations". To see an interview given by Professor Sir Richards on the day, please click on the photo.
During the Conference, OPCARE9 project members announced a six point declaration - 'The Liverpool Declaration' - to signify their ongoing commitment to improving care for dying patients. To see the Declaration in full, please click here.
Professor John Ellershaw, Professor of Palliative Medicine, University of Liverpool and OPCARE9 Scientific Project Co-ordinator - "Following OPCARE9 we are now launching the International OPCARE Research Collaborative (IORC), in which we will collaborate on research protocols developed during OPCARE9, develop future research protocols for optimising care of the dying within an international framework, and ensure effective communications between members".
For a full Conference report, please click here.
