On 23 November, the Main Hall at UIC Barcelona hosted an international workshop organised by the WeCare Chair. Entitled “The systematic evaluation of suffering: a need in clinical practice”, this sixth edition of the event brought together national and international speakers who are specialised in the field of palliative care.
Due to greater life expectancy and an increase in the percentage of ageing members of our society, palliative care at the end of life takes on a more significant role. For that reason, for Dr Cristina Monforte and Dr Josep Porta, co-directors of the WeCare Chair “it is fundamental that professionals caring for these patients and their families have the necessary knowledge to know how to tackle suffering. This workshop offers the opportunity to find out about and exchange experiences with colleagues from different cities and countries”.
More than 130 healthcare professionals who specialise in palliative care attended the event from universities across Spain, hospitals and health centres, as well as organisations and associations such as Áltima, AECC and the Catalan Institute of Oncology. Two round tables were held during the first part of the meeting, and at the end, attendees were offered the opportunity to discuss the issues covered with experts.
The second part of the event focused on how to tackle suffering and the wish to hasten death in other countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. In order to do this, a round table was held, chaired by Dr Albert Balaguer, who is both coordinator of the Chair and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr Elisa García, a lecturer from the Faculty of Medicine at the Free University of Amsterdam, and Dr Malgorzata Krajnik, head of the Department of Palliative Care and the Collegium Medicum Ludwika Rydygiera in Bydgoszcz UMK in Torun both participated in the round table, as well as Dr Kerstin Kremeike, a researcher in the department of palliative medicine at the University Hospital of Cologne.
The event ended with a few words from Dr Porta and then a short film called Fantastic Four was screened. The film won the award for Best Short Film at the first WeCare Festival entitled Living to the End, held in May this year.
