CARE Course Topic: Service development

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Technological Innovation in Palliative Care Conference

  • What if we reimagined palliative care for a digital age?
  • What if we could harness technology without losing what matters most?
  • What if the next chapter of palliative care is being written now?
Technological innovation in palliative care conference - sep 2026 - graphic

Technology is changing healthcare at pace. Across palliative and end-of-life care, new possibilities are emerging through research, digital innovation, data science, virtual technologies and artificial intelligence. At the same time, fundamental questions remain.

  • How do we harness technology while preserving dignity, equity, human connection and person-centred decision-making?
  • How do we shape a future that reflects the values at the heart of palliative care?

We believe it is possible to create a future in which technology supports better care, stronger connections, greater accessibility and new opportunities for learning, while remaining grounded in what matters most to patients, families, communities and professionals.

You are invited to join colleagues from hospices, health and social care organisations, palliative care services, academia and the wider research community in a conversation about what that future could look like.

Through keynote presentations, research showcases and interactive discussion, we will explore real-world examples of technological innovation in palliative care, including virtual reality, digital services, automation, artificial intelligence, natural language processing, advance care planning technologies and emerging questions about death, grief and digital presence. These themes reflect the conference programme and its breadth of perspectives. 

Together, we will explore what is possible, what is responsible, what is evidence-informed and what is yet to be understood. We will share experiences, challenge assumptions, learn from one another and consider how innovation can be translated into safe, meaningful and compassionate practice.

If you choose to join us, we ask that you:

  • Come with curiosity.
  • Be willing to share your perspectives and experiences.
  • Engage respectfully with different viewpoints.
  • Help create a space for supportive dialogue and collective learning.

This conference is suitable for anyone with an interest in research, innovation and the future of palliative care, including:

  • Hospice and palliative care professionals
  • Nurses and Allied Health Professionals
  • Clinical leaders and consultants
  • Social care professionals
  • Researchers and academics
  • Digital, data and innovation leads
  • Service managers and operational leaders

Topics currently under development include:

  • Learn from real-world examples of innovation in hospice care
  • Explore the opportunities and challenges of AI and emerging technologies
  • Discover how research can be translated into everyday practice
  • Connect with colleagues from across the sector
  • Leave with practical ideas to support future service improvement and innovation

Programme and speakers will be announced soon.

More speaker and detailed programme information to come.

Dr Guy Peryer

Guy is Director of Research at St Christopher’s hospice. He is a Chartered Psychologist with extensive experience in the design, implementation, and evaluation of complex interventions.
Read More Dr Guy Peryer

Gail Preston

Gail has been a physiotherapist for over 20 years, initially specialising in Neuro Rehab before moving into Palliative Care. Over the last 15 years she has developed and evaluated services…
Read More Gail Preston

Matt Tregellas

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, Matt moved to Japan where he began his career as an English language teacher. After three years, Matt returned to the UK where…
Read More Matt Tregellas

Dr. Amara Nwosu

In this plenary session, Dr. Amara Nwosu will deliver an engaging, thought-provoking examination of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming palliative and end-of-life care. Tracing the evolution of AI into…
Read More Dr. Amara Nwosu

Pathfinder Leaders in Palliative Care 

Are you a professional working in health and social care interested to contribute to positive experiences of death, dying and loss through strong and confident leadership?

If so, we would like to invest in you.

We are interested to work with emerging leaders who want to improve how people live, die and grieve, by drawing on new and different leadership thinking and action. They will be people that aspire to shape care, build partnerships and form services that are future orientated, courageous and creative in nature.

You will have the opportunity to learn as part of a group of like-minded people who can rise above the challenges of today to meet tomorrow’s opportunities. Those contributing to the course as facilitators and guest speakers are drawn from within and beyond the hospice and palliative care sectors.

Please email education@stchristophers.org.uk to discuss joining.

Our curriculum is forward-focused and covers a range of issues. Online sessions last three hours in length, providing opportunities for conceptual learning, practical application, personal reflection and action planning. 

What is expected if you join the course?

In the course of the programme you are expected to undertake a work-based project. We can help guide you in relation to the type of project most appropriate, but it must be one that is seen as valuable by the organisation for which you work, and one which calls on leadership skills in its design and implementation. Your organisation must be happy to support you to identify and work on the project, giving you access to relevant data and resources. Ideally your managers will allocate some time for you to work on this, protected from the demands of the rest of your job. 

We expect participants to attend at least 80% of the course and to be prepared to complete the work-based project.

This leadership programme is an excellent opportunity for leaders and managers that have an aspiration to progress to director level and beyond. You will be recognised as having leadership potential and talent by your employing organisation.

This course will be of interest to:

  • Senior Managers already in post who want to build strategic leadership skills
  • Senior team leaders and heads of department who aspire to lead directorates in the future
  • New CEOs or COOs who have recently taken up roles within the hospice/palliative care sector and who want to immerse themselves in this area of work
  • Existing directors looking to hone their leadership skills

Topics covered in the programme: 

  • Knowing self, values and strengths
  • Building personal assets and resilience
  • Building strategic vision and clarity
  • Financial confidence
  • Authentic, centred leadership and gravitas
  • Forward looking transformation and change
  • Negotiation skills and influencing others
  • Maximising agency and leverage
  • Big picture thinking
  • Driving innovation
  • Building others
  • Networks, collaboration and partnership working
  • Being intelligent around risk
  • Intimacy at scale

Marie Cooper

Senior Nursing Advisor Celebrating Palliative Care Nursing Marie is a nurse with many years’ experience of clinical leadership with an expertise in practice development across a range of care settings. Having…
Read More Marie Cooper

“The training strengthened my confidence as a leader and had a transformative impact on my career. I found my place in palliative care with a renewed sense of purpose”

– Thamirys Mendes, Brazil participant



“The course created a psychologically safe environment that encouraged open dialogue and deep self-reflection. I felt comfortable exploring my own strengths and areas for growth without judgment”

– Caroline Phillips, UK participant

Teach with CARE – improve your teaching practice

  • Are you passionate about teaching in health and social care?
  • Do you want to fine tune your teaching practice?
  • Would you like to introduce innovations in your approach to learning?  

Teach with CARE is a four-day course with teaching spread over several weeks.

The course considers different perspectives of adult learning and pedagogy.

The sessions introduce best practice techniques including planning; presenting; resourcing; questioning; assessing and evaluating teaching across the four days.

Learners will also look at online educational tools for effective teaching as well as evaluating best practice for face-to-face and online teaching. They will have the opportunity to plan and share a short teaching session and receive supportive feedback.

“It’s common to be asked to teach others as part of your role, but for those with no training and little experience in teaching, this can be a nerve-wracking prospect. Teach with CARE has been developed as a foundational step into the theory and practice of teaching and learning, giving clinical and non-clinical colleagues alike the confidence and ideas to excel in the role. High quality teaching is critical to our learners being able to put what we teach into practice, and therefore benefits the quality of care delivered throughout the sector.“

Matt Tregellas, Digital Learning Manager and Teach with CARE Lead, St Christopher’s CARE

“I really enjoyed the four days. I think that Teach with CARE should be mandatory for all (teaching colleagues), no matter how long they have been teaching. It gives everyone a platform from which they can be launched and a sense of what is expected of them.” 

Teach with CARE attendee

What will the course look like?

  • Fully virtual course: With this option all four days learning are online via Zoom
  • Blended course: For this option the learning will be in-person at CARE (days 1 and 4) and online (days 2 and 3).
    Please note you will need a laptop for the in-person sessions.

This course will involve:

  • Exploration of academic and web articles
  • A range of activity types including: live and video presentation; using interactive tools as both a learner and a teacher; discussion; pair and group work; self-study; critical thinking; reflection
  • Completion of tasks before and after sessions. There will be approximately one hour of self-study per session and slightly longer for the final assignment.

What will I learn?

  • Theories of teaching and learning
  • Consider the needs of adult learners and how to create engaging learning
  • Consider implications for practice when teaching face-to-face or virtually
  • Enhance and develop teaching practice

Who is it for?

The course is for anyone who wishes to improve their teaching practice face-to-face and online, particularly those in health and social care, but the learning from this course can be used in most settings.

Delegates are expected to have a basic understanding of navigating a laptop, supporting software and use of the internet.

Matt Tregellas

After graduating from the University of Sheffield, Matt moved to Japan where he began his career as an English language teacher. After three years, Matt returned to the UK where…
Read More Matt Tregellas

Lorna Malcolm

Lorna joined the Rehabilitation team at St Christopher’s in 2008, as a newly qualified physiotherapist, coming from previous careers in Law and Health and Fitness. She has also worked as…
Read More Lorna Malcolm

Programme

  • Exploring St Christopher’s CARE aims and Pedagogical Framework
  • Considering different perspectives on adult learning
  • Planning; presenting; resourcing; questioning; assessing and evaluating teaching in response to learner input and feedback
  • Considering best practice for face-to-face and online teaching
  • Using online tools for effective teaching
  • Planning and sharing the rationale for a teaching session

Day 1

10.00Welcome and Introductions
St Christopher’s CARE and the Pedagogical Framework
11.00Break
11.15Theories of learning
12.15Lunch
12.55Adult learning and active learning
14.15Reflection, evaluation and wrap up
15.00Close

Day 2

10.00The teaching context
11.15Break
11.30Constructive alignment, learning outcomes and Bloom’s taxonomy
12.40Lunch
13.20Online educational tools
14.20Homework set up and reflection
15.00Close

Day 3

10.00The Conversational Framework
Active learning activity share
11.15Break
11.30Anatomy of a teaching session
Planning a teaching session
12.40Lunch
13.20Flipped learning
13.50Multimedia design
14.30Homework set up and reflection
15.00Close

Day 4

10.00Evaluation and reflection
11.15Break
11.30Making and delivering an activity with educational technology
12.45Lunch
13.25Putting it into practice: Assignment workshop
14.15Final reflection, Next steps
15.00Farewell

MSc, Postgraduate Diploma and Postgraduate Certificate in Palliative Care

Overview

The MSc in Palliative Care course is intended for the future leaders of palliative and end of life care from multi-professional backgrounds (clinical care, teaching and/or research). The course will give you the skills necessary to critically appraise research and evidence on issues of child and adult palliative care to inform clinical practice and service development. This course draws on the research, expertise and international reputations of teaching staff at King’s College London and St Christopher’s Hospice. Other high-profile experts in palliative care and other relevant disciplines and organisations also contribute to teaching.

This course is multi-disciplinary and multi- professional. You will learn alongside palliative care professionals from across the world and from all disciplines at the Cicely Saunders Institute. We have students from a wide range of disciplines and professions including doctors, chaplains, nurses, social workers and physiotherapists.

Course aims

  • Our Palliative Care programme aims to improve competence and confidence to care for adults and children with advanced disease, and for their families.
  • The programme enables participants to develop the skills to critically evaluate evidence of the effectiveness, appropriateness and acceptability of existing interventions and services, both medical and psychosocial.
  • You will develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of the many clinical, social, psychosocial, and ethical issues which surround palliative care, and how to assess and deal with them.

Programme content

Core module

  • Research methods and statistics in palliative care

Optional modules

  • Assessment and management of symptoms in advanced diseases
  • Applying psychosocial, culture, spiritual and ethical issues to palliative and end of life care
  • Service development and policy in palliative care
  • Applying epidemiology in palliative care

MSc research project

As an MSc student, you will complete a research project based on your area of interest. This can include collecting new data in your place of work, analysing data collected by researchers at the Cicely Saunders Institute, or systematically reviewing existing evidence.

Flexible learning options

The MSc qualification requires completion of the Research Methods module, plus 3 Optional Modules, and the Research Project.

In addition to the MSc qualification, we also offer a Postgraduate Diploma (Research Methods module + 3 optional modules) and a Postgraduate Certificate (Research Methods Module + 1 optional module).

You can also complete individual Standalone Modules. This enables you to access the programme at a point that is relevant to your circumstances, achieve credits and leave at a point that specifically meets your needs.

Teaching methods – what to expect

The MSc, Diploma and Certificate programme in Palliative Care will be delivered via Hyflex. This means the course will be delivered both in person and online at the same time. As an in-person student, you will taught in the classroom on campus. You will also be joined by other students remotely wherever they are in the world.

The taught components of our modules are delivered in two-week blocks, throughout the year, with time for self-directed learning in between. This is deliberately designed to fit around your commitments at home and at work. 

Formal entry requirements

You should normally have a degree in medicine or nursing, or an upper second class honours degree in life sciences, social sciences, or other approved subject awarded by a United Kingdom university or a recognised overseas university. You should also be able to demonstrate experience of working in palliative care, from a practice or research point of view.

Further information

Full details about the programme are available on the Cicely Saunders Institute MSc webpage.

If you would like to request a programme booklet or have any further queries, please contact us at mscpallcare@kcl.ac.uk.

Leadership & Management Course for Specialty Registrars and SAS Doctors in Palliative Medicine

In partnership with

Princess Alice Hospice logo

Elevate Your Leadership and Management Skills

Register your interest for our 2027 Leadership & Management Programme for Specialty Registrars and SAS Doctors in Palliative Medicine.

Since our first course in 2003, this well-established programme has helped more than 560 doctors across the UK and Ireland strengthen their leadership skills.

Designed and delivered by senior leaders and clinicians from Princess Alice Hospice, St Christopher’s Hospice, the NHS and 3rd sector leaders, this interactive programme helps future consultants and senior SAS doctors develop the confidence, skills and knowledge needed to lead effectively in today’s healthcare environment.

Two nurses walking and talking together.

Our 2027 programme offers a practical, interactive learning experience designed to enhance your leadership and management capabilities. You’ll gain tools and knowledge that directly support your professional development and align with the specialty training curriculum requirements.

Our Leadership & Management Course is designed to equip you with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to lead effectively and manage complex situations with skill and professionalism. Through practical learning, you’ll develop strategies for handling difficult conversations, resolving conflict, and driving positive change within your team or organisation.

The programme objectives are:

Building effective management skills and abilities
Enhancing practical management skills
Addressing current curriculum training requirements

Upon successful completion, participants will receive 20-25 Category 1 (External) CPD credits accredited by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians.

Delivered entirely online across 5 days, the course runs at the start of each year and offers flexibility to learn, collaborate, and enhance your leadership skills from wherever you are.

  • Personal Leadership & Professional Development
    Develop your self-awareness, leadership capability, and effective communication skills. Practical exercises focused on influencing, team working, collaboration and building your personal leadership toolkit.
  • Building Leadership Confidence & Resilience
    Overcome imposter syndrome, enhance wellbeing and resilience, and develop your confidence in decision-making. Supporting the transition into senior clinical and consultant leadership roles.
  • Management Skills for Clinical Leaders
    Understand budgets, business cases, job planning and resource management. Develop practical skills in people management, performance conversations and leading teams effectively.
  • Quality Improvement, Governance & Digital Transformation
    Explore quality improvement methodologies, clinical governance, complaints management, CQC requirements and hospice governance. Recognise the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation in healthcare.
  • Organisational Strategy & Workforce Leadership
    Understand healthcare and hospice organisational structures, including boards, trustees, fundraising and communications functions. Examine workforce planning, staff wellbeing and strategies for leading organisational change.
  • Current & Future Challenges in Palliative Care
    Explore the evolving landscape of palliative and end-of-life care, including service pressures, workforce challenges, changing patient needs and opportunities for innovation and sustainable service development.

Attendees must join for all 5 session, the dates are below. Each session will start at 9am and finish at 4pm.

  • Tuesday 12 January 2027
  • Wednesday 13 January 2027
  • Thursday 14 January 2027
  • Wednesday 27 January 2027
  • Thursday 28 January 2027

This course is open to Palliative medicine ST6/7 (ST5/6 2010 curriculum) SAS doctors, and early consultants in palliative medicine based in the United Kingdom.

“The whole course has been excellent and extremely well facilitated. The practical tools and tips – for example managing confrontation have been really good. Being able to engage with the other trainees through the chat function was also helpful.”
– Attendee 2025

To enrol on the course, please email us directly at education@stchristophers.org.uk.

When you email please provide your ST level and CCT/proposed CESR date, if this is applicable to your role.