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Palliative Social Work Symposium 2016 – ‘Further in Palliative Social Work : Collaborations for Innovations ‘ & Hospicehome ‘The Moment’ Photo Contest 2015 Prizing Ceremony

27 Oct 2016

To promote a positive attitude towards death and dying and to increase public awareness of hospice and palliative care, the Palliative Social Work Symposium 2016 ‘Further in Palliative Social Work: Collaborations for Innovations’ & Hospicehome ‘The Moment’ Photo Contest 2015 Prizing Ceremony, was held at the Auditorium in the Duke of Windsor Social Service Building in Wan Chai today (October 27, 2016). The event was organized by the Department of Social Work and Social Administration of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and sponsored by the Li Ka Shing Foundation "Heart of Gold" Hong Kong Hospice Service Program, with an attendance of over 350 healthcare professionals.

Head of Department of Social Work and Social Administration of HKU, Professor Terry Lum officiated at the opening ceremony. The half-day program consisted of three sessions: “Hospicehome ‘The Moment’ Photo Contest 2015 Prizing Ceremony”, “Advance and Innovation in Palliative Social Work” and “Reflection and Recharge of Palliative Work", with topics related to palliative social work practice and prospects in Hong Kong, innovative psychosocial interventions, volunteer engagement in palliative social work in community, research in elderly life and death education, and sharing of frontline social works in palliative care settings and suggestions for professional competency enhancements.

To successfully deal with the new challenges brought by the changing population demographics, the professional healthcare team needs to equip themselves with empirical clinical knowledge and skills, and fully utilizes community resources, to provide patients with holistic care that takes their physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs into account. The needs of patients and their caregivers which have not been taken care of should now be addressed by improving the standard of care and providing appropriate interventions. These issues related to end-of-life care were widely discussed at the symposium.

On the other hand, to optimize the existing provision of hospice and palliative care, active participation of the community and the authorities is needed to raise public awareness and build consensus for a better End-of-Life environment. Thus, life and death education in the community is essential to remove the prejudice of death brought by traditional cultural taboos.

As organizer, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong
is one of the leaders in providing social work training in the field of hospice and palliative care. With an ageing population, the Department also introduced courses of "Life & Death Education", "Holistic Care" and "Bereavement Support" to equip students and practitioners with evidence-based intervention techniques.

As sponsor, the Li Ka Shing Foundation (LKSF) "Heart of Gold" Hong Kong Hospice Service Programme
set up the nation's first free hospice at the First Affiliated Hospital of the Shantou University Medical College in 1998 as response to a growing need to serve terminally ill cancer patients in Mainland China. The "Heart of Gold" National Hospice Service Program provides free hospice care for impoverished cancer patients at home, offering pain alleviation, psychological counseling, and other terminal care. The "Heart of Gold" Hospice Service Program has developed a nationwide network of 41 top-rated hospice homes across Mainland China and Hong Kong.   Accumulated donation is around RMB 700 million.  Over 190,000 cancer patients have benefited.

As part of the expanded program, the LKSF has also launched a website called Hospice Home (www.hospicehome.hk), creating a one-stop platform for hospice service information and interaction. There are already over 720,000 online visits. In 2014, the LKSF introduced the Hospice Home App, further promoting public involvement in the discussion of Hong Kong hospice and palliative care development.

To date, the "Heart of Gold" Hong Kong Hospice Service Program:
- Served more than 430,000 specialists clinics and centres service sessions
- Over 3,300 volunteers were recruited and trained
- Provided more than 72,000 sessions of psychological counseling for patients and families
- Provided bereavement counseling for over 2,500 children and their families

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/wajtxwfim9o0fq5/AAD375s6TcpskbLnLAH_laOva?dl=0

Li Ka Shing Foundation Official Website: www.lksf.org
Li Ka Shing Foundation "Heart of Gold" Hong Kong Hospice Service Program":
http://www21.ha.org.hk/sub/lks/EN/service.html
Hospicehome Website: www.hospicehome.hk

For media enquiries, please contact:
Ms. Amy Choi (Senior Executive Assistant, Centre on Behavioral Health, HKU; Tel: 2831 5163; email: amychoi@hku.hk)