We are delighted to report that a bid has been submitted to the EU HORIZON programme this week for a new International Collaborative project involving research teams from 11 countries, plus the European Association for Palliative Care.
The COMCARE project aims to break the 'conspiracy of silence' that often surrounds patients with serious illness, encouraging a healthcare culture in which meaningful communication takes place so that the needs and preferences of patients and their families can be met. If successfully funded, the project will establish a European Serious Illness Communication Programme that will include training and coaching programmes for clinicians, together with tools to empower patients and their families to communicate their needs and preferences.
The Executive Committee would like to express their grateful thanks to the project partners and associates for the hard work that went into the preparation of this bid - it was exciting to see so much international collaboration in action. Particular thanks are due to Professor Agnes van der Heide and Team Rotterdam for their time and dedication in coordinating the bid, and we're sure our members will join us in congratulating Agnes and her team on a job well done.
We very much hope that the bid will be successful in attracting funding and look forward to reporting back when EU feedback is received later in the year.