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The All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) is offering a unique opportunity for members of the public to help to shape the future of palliative care services across the island of Ireland.
AIIHPC is looking for new volunteers to join Voices4Care, a volunteer group established to include, and to learn from the personal experiences of palliative care of its members.
Members of Voices4Care are:
· People with a life-limiting illness who may have palliative care needs
· Carers or former carers of people with palliative care needs
· Members of the public with an interest in palliative care.
Palliative care focuses on helping each person with a life-limiting illness to achieve the best possible quality of life as their illness progresses, by supporting them and their caregivers with their physical, practical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. It helps people with a serious illness to live as well as they can for as long as they can and is beneficial for people with a range of conditions, and across all ages.
Roger Kennedy, Programme Director, Strategic Planning and Performance Group, Department of Health said “We would like to hear from people with palliative care needs, their carers, and interested citizens who want to be part of something that can make a real difference in palliative care across Northern Ireland. Voices4Care members are an integral part of our regional Palliative Care in Partnership programme and make an important contribution to influencing and shaping palliative care research, policy, and service development.
Improving support and services to meet the needs of people approaching the end of their lives and those important to them is the essence of what we do and the experience and insight the Voices4Care members bring ensures our work is mindful of what is most important to those receiving care. We are very grateful to the members who have shaped our work to date and look forward to welcoming a new cohort of volunteers to provide new challenge, perspective and ideas moving forward,” Mr Kennedy said.
Kim Elliott, a Member of Voices4Care recalls her own experience of being a member over the past five years.
“Having cared for and lost both parents to cancer two years previously I had witnessed first-hand both very good, and very poor, levels of care and felt the time was right for me to use my voice and experience to make a difference for someone else facing such challenges.
“During this time, I have been privileged to work through some very emotive and challenging issues with a group of individuals from a range of backgrounds and personal experience of palliative and end-of-life care. Some members came from health or voluntary sector backgrounds, some were receiving palliative care services themselves, and some, like myself, had helped care for those we loved facing end-of-life.
To anyone thinking they don’t have the skills or confidence to speak out, I would encourage them to apply – if you have experience of caring for family or friends this opportunity will give you a voice to help make the changes needed and in helping others, I found that it helped heal some of my own hurt. I am happy to pass on the baton to the next group of volunteers and will follow the progress they make with interest and hope,” Kim said.
“The Voices4Care volunteer group is an integral part of the work of AIIHPC. The voices of those who have direct experience of palliative care and those who are interested in contributing to the improvement of palliative care services are essential in helping us to progress developments in palliative care,” Karen Charnley, CEO, AIIHPC.
Applications open on Wednesday 1 May and will close on Sunday 16 June 2024. *Applicants must be 18 years or over at the time of application.
Further information about joining Voices4Care is available at www.aiihpc.org. People interested in getting involved are asked to complete an expression of interest form by Sunday, 16 June. To find out more, contact: Paula Pinto, ppinto@aiihpc.org , or phone +353 87 1961430
