Here Dr Anne Hendry talks IFIC Scotland, and its work to develop a broad spectrum of new special interest groups as well as deliver education and training activities via the IFIC Academy.
Anne said: “IFIC Scotland and partners are delighted to support a number of IFIC Academy activities. This is a short update on our Special Interest Groups and webinar series.
Marie Curran, IFIC Scotland coordinator, facilitates Special Interest Groups (SIGs) on Intermediate Care, Polypharmacy and our new SIG on Palliative and End of Life Care. Marie works with topic specialists who lead and moderate specific areas of collaboration. The SIGs are a great way of connecting practitioners, managers, researchers, students, and policy makers from different health and care systems around topics of mutual interest.
The Palliative Care SIG will focus on an integrated and public health approach to palliative and end of life care to improve the health and wellbeing of people facing potentially life-limiting illness, loneliness, dying, death and bereavement. The SIG will be led by Anne Mills and her team from Hospice Isle of Man working closely with the Newhealth Foundation in Seville and Compassionate Inverclyde in Scotland; all three partners are building social movements around people-led, assets-based approaches to compassionate citizenship and integrated palliative and end of life care. Other SIG topics will include Anticipatory Care Planning and the use of person centred outcome measures.
Alpana Mair leads the Polypharmacy SIG, building on her recent role as EU project coordinator for the SIMPATHY project. The SIG will address Appropriate Polypharmacy and Adherence in Integrated care, linking together people engaged in planning, designing, delivering and evaluating appropriate polypharmacy reviews as part of an integrated care pathway.
The Intermediate Care SIG is ably supported by Lucy Fraser from New Zealand, Marco Inzitari from Barcelona, and Gaston Perman from Argentina. Activities range from webinars, conference workshop sessions, international knowledge exchange visits, action research and redesign proposals, and lots and lots of sharing of good practice. Members are currently working on a common definition of intermediate care that can be applied across countries in Europe and beyond.
We have been gathering interest in a further SIG on complex care. From discussions at ICIC conferences the main focus would be on continuity and care coordination for people with complex care and support needs, for example individuals who have multiple conditions or live with frailty. As part of a new collaboration with the European Joint Action on Frailty, our second series of Integrated Care Matters webinars has a focus on active and healthy ageing and preventing and managing frailty. Each monthly webinar features health and care practitioners who are implementing people-centred integrated care for older people. Mandy Andrew hosts a stellar cast of presenters from around the world who generously share evidence, personal insights, practical tips and peer support. Each webinar is supported by a summary of practical resources related to the topic.
We look forward to meeting you and continuing to expand our SIG community at ICIC18 in Utrecht.”
IFIC Scotland was founded by the International Foundation for Integrated Care and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland. It is based in the International Centre for Integrated Care, at the University of the West of Scotland and is led by Dr Anne Hendry, Consultant Physician in Geriatric Medicine and IFIC’s Senior Associate in Scotland.
Find out more about IFIC Scotland and Access Resources and Webinars