Speakers

Bio:

Adam Rapoport is a general pediatrician with a Masters in bioethics. In 2009, Adam joined the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital as their pediatric consultant. In July 2011 he became the first Medical Director of the Paediatric Advanced Care Team (PACT), the palliative care service at SickKids. PACT provides both inpatient and outpatient palliative care to children with serious illnesses, and their families. In 2013 Adam became Medical Director at Toronto’s first pediatric residential hospice – Emily’s House. Adam has co-chaired Ontario’s Provincial Pediatric Palliative Care Steering Committee since 2018 and he was appointed by Ontario Health to lead the development of a provincial model of pediatric palliative care in 2022. He has more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and was co-editor of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Care for Children (3rd ed). Adam’s academic work focuses on the intersection of his 3 primary interests: pediatrics, palliative care and ethics.

Bio:

Lorna joined King's College London as Professor of Palliative Care and Child Health in November 2022. Her background is in clinical paediatrics and her research focuses on children and young people. She was the founding director of the highly successful Martin House Research Centre, a multi-disciplinary centre for research on the care and support of children and young people with life-limiting conditions, their families and the workforce that care for them. She has a portfolio of funding from the major funders, including two NIHR fellowships. Her main area of expertise is the use of routine data to influence policy and address healthcare inequalities. Her work has influenced national service specifications, children's palliative care funding, and vaccine prioritisation for children with COVID-19.

Working closely with children and their parents is central to her research and they were recently awarded the Royal College of Paediatric and Child Health Patient and Public Involvement prize. In 2018, Lorna was awarded the postdoctoral researcher award by the European Association of Palliative Care.

Bio:

Dr Daniel Nuzum is an adjunct lecturer in the College of Medicine and Health at University College Cork (UCC) alongside his work as a healthcare chaplain/pastoral carer, Clinical Pastoral Education supervisor & educator with a specialist interest in perinatal care, pregnancy loss, palliative care and bereavement care. Daniel has published and presented on the areas of perinatal bereavement, communication, stillbirth, palliative care and spiritual care. Daniel is a member of the Pastoral Care Team at Marymount University Hospital and Hospice, Cork and Cork University Hospital. Daniel was a coauthor of the chapter ‘Perinatal Palliative Care’  in the Oxford textbook of palliative care for children, 2021.

Daniel’s research interests are in the area of care following stillbirth and neonatal bereavement, spirituality in specialist palliative care, pastoral education and healthcare ethics. Daniel is an active member of the Pregnancy Loss Research Group at UCC.

Bio:

Dr Anna-Karenia (AK) Anderson is a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine who works at the Royal Marsden Hospital and Shooting star children’s hospice, where she is also the Medical Director. She is also co-chair of the Surrey and Southwest London PPC network, and co-medical Children and Young People’s lead for Palliative and End of life care for Southeast England Region.

She is research active, publishing in the areas of phase of illness, surprise question and Fentanyl with an ongoing project in symptom assessment tool development. She is co-author of two Cochrane reviews on paediatric pain and the 2nd-6th editions of the APPM formulary.  With the support of Cochrane Response, AK has created a national paediatric palliative care clinical guidelines group which has published on Agitation, GI dystonia and Seizures with current work underway on Pain and Dystonia. As current chair of the APPM (Association of Paediatric Palliative Medicine), she has widened the representation to include the multi-disciplinary team, championed perinatal palliative care, education programs and paediatric trainee education.

Bio:

Niamh O’Sullivan [BSc.N., Pg. Cert Cancer Nursing, Pg. Cert Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Care, MSc], is Assistant Director of Nursing (ADON) for Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) cancer @ Children’s Health Ireland (CHI), Crumlin and St. James’s Hospital, Dublin. 

She received her nursing degree from Trinity College, Dublin in 2008. Niamh has focused on cancer nursing throughout her career, spending 5 years in the cancer services in Sydney, Australia. 

Niamh has a passionate interest in ensuring AYA patients receive thoughtful care that respects their priorities and life circumstances and a keen commitment to patient partnership in service and research co-design

Bio:

Dr Peter McCarthy [MRCPCH, FRCPath] is a consultant haematologist with a special interest in Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer. Peter is the first haematologist appointed with a specialist focus on AYA cancer care in Ireland. He works between Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin and St. James’s Hospital. 

Peter graduated from University College Cork in 2012. He completed basic specialist training in General Paediatrics followed by Higher Specialist Training in Clinical and Laboratory Haematology with the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.  

In addition to his clinical work with young people with cancer, Peter also volunteers as the medical director and a board member of Barretstown. He used this experience to form a Young Person’s Advisory Group for the National Children’s Cancer Service to ensure the voices of young people with cancer are prioritised.

Bio:

Dr David Graham (MB, BCh, BAO, MRCPCH)

Co-chair Northern Ireland Paediatric Palliative Care Network (since 2019)

Past 9 years - Consultant Paediatrician (General Paediatrics, Neonatal & Community Paediatrics) in

Southern Health & Social Care trust (based in Craigavon).

Trust medical lead for Paediatric Palliative Care within the Southern Health & Social Care trust.

He is proud to be part of the regional network that has been working on the advancement of

Palliative care for Children & Young people in Northern Ireland and promoting the department of health strategy.

The achievements of the Palliative care network have included development of guidelines, such as advance care planning, and a perinatal palliative care pathway. It is also focusing on developing services, raising awareness, and establishing links within UK & Ireland.

Bio:

Dr Fiona McElligott is a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Medicine (PPM) in Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street and The Rotunda Hospital, and an Associate Clinical Processor at UCD School of Medicine.

Prior to returning to Ireland in 2019, Fiona worked as a consultant in PPM in the National Health Service in Yorkshire.

Fiona is a member of the National Cancer Control Programme Children Adolescents and Young Adult Framework Implementation Project Board, and is a member of the HSE Children’s Palliative Care Strategic Advisory Group.  Fiona is a member of the board of directors of LauraLynn, Ireland’s Children’s Hospice.

Bio:

Ursula O'Donoghue is a Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNSp) in Co Roscommon, Community Service. During her career, she worked in the inpatient setting in the Pembridge Palliative Care Unit, Parkside in London. On moving back to Ireland, Ursula worked in the Community based Palliative Care setting. Academic qualification in this area were gained in both London with ENB (English National Board) Palliative Care course and more recently a graduate of NUI Galway. Ursula was the first appointed Palliative Care Nurse in South Co Westmeath, responsible for setting up that service in 1995. She joined the Co Roscommon Palliative Care team in 1997and was the 2nd nurse appointed for the County back then. Since then Ursula has been part of the development of the Community Palliative Care service as a CNSp and also for a period as Acting Nurse Manager. Roscommon is primarily an adult service but in her CNSp role, Ursula provides care for all ages and illnesses, for symptom control and end of life management. This includes children with malignancies and life limiting conditions.

Bio:

Sarah Banahan Clinical Nurse Specialist with Roscommon community palliative care team, whose role involves the management of physical symptoms and psychosocial issues in the context of life limiting conditions of patients and families within the Roscommon community. Sarah joined the team in 2020 after a successful three years with the Galway community palliative care team. She was also module leader for the academic year in 2019 for the MSc palliative care program with National University of Ireland Galway.

She had graduated in 2015 in University College Cork with Bachelor of Science Degree in General nursing and won the Josephine Potel award for outstanding excellence in clinical placement. Followed by MSc in Palliative Care in 2018 in University of Limerick. She has just qualified as a Nurse Prescriber from the Royal College of Surgeons Dublin in 2023 and is looking forward to having prescribing enhancing her role as a clinical nurse specialist within the community setting.

Bio:

Martina Kenny Clinical Nurse Coordinator for Children with Life Limiting Conditions in Mayo and Mid Roscommon, as part of the SAOLTA group, whose role includes coordinating the care of children with life limiting conditions in particular at end of life within the hospital and home environment.

Martina joined the team in November 2022. Martina started her Nursing career in 2003 with a bachelor of Science Degree in General Nursing in Athlone IT. She completed this in 2007 and was awarded the director of nursing award for outstanding excellence on clinical placement. Following on from this in 2009 she completed a Higher Diploma in Childrens Nursing in University College Dublin, and achieved a second class honours degree.

She spent over 13 years at Childrens Health Ireland in Crumlin. Commencing in ICU, where she completed the foundations studies programme in ICU. She worked with many different specialities in Crumlin. She spent five years working as a clinical nurse specialist in Spinal deformities and children with complex medical conditions.

She recently completed modules in Wound care and Research in NUIG, and Level B Caring for a child with life limiting conditions in Crumlin. She has also completed many online education pieces both locally run such as a pain module on HSE land in conjunction with Crumlin, and End of Life Care.