Foundation Certificate in Equity, Diversity & Inclusion for Palliative and End of Life Care

Palliative care emerged in the 1960s in response to the increasing number of people dying with cancer and the quality of care that was available. However, despite many years of development the majority of patients who get access to palliative care are white people with cancer. There are numerous research studies that describe the challenges of access faced by people from ethnically diverse communities, people who identify at LGBTQ+, people who are homeless and those who have other diseases that would benefit from palliative care.

There are many reasons for this including funding and capacity. There are though other reasons relating to a lack of community engagement, institutional parameters around system design and a focus on ‘services’ and not the strengths of community.

The programme includes:-

1. Introduction including the historical context, data and evidence of the challenge of access to palliative care

2. Power and privilege and how this impacts care design

3. Forms of discrimination and intersectionality

4. Racism and Anti-Racism in palliative care

5. Community Engagement and co-production skills – shifting power to communities

6. Institutional challenge and change

7. A community of practice to stay connected and continue learning