COIN - Community-Oriented Integration Network - holds monthly meetings that discuss how to achieve Community-Oriented Integrated Practice – a way of being that stimulates local collaborations for health & care (https://www.healthmatters.org.uk/Library/coip_0322.pdf).
Initiatives that stimulate local collaborations for health and care develop creative, trusted relationships. They enhance Multidisciplinary Teams, build Compassionate Communities, and help Individuals to develop a Broader Perspective and Evolve Interlocking Connections in their communities. In 2022 we focused on the same topic throughout the year - End-of-Life (EOL) Care. You can see a video that summarises these nine meetings HERE. A YouTube video of each meeting can also be seen, linked to a blog at https://www.healthmatters.org.uk/.
In January, Eleni Tsiompanou, palliative care consultant, presented the idea that Health is Harmony. Watch the recording of that session HERE. This fits well with the idea described in Community-Oriented Integrated Practice that Health means being able to develop a positive life story (https://www.healthmatters.org.uk/Library/coip_0322.pdf). A Healthy Death means facilitating a process that helps a dying person to feel that they have completed their life story in a positive way AND for the people who relate to that person to feel that the process has helped them to move their life stories forward in meaningful ways (https://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/full/10.12968/bjcn.2022.27.9.432).
In February, Julian Abel, GP, used the phrase Survival of the Kindest to explain that Compassionate Communities do good things when someone is dying and avoid doing bad things. Achieving this requires planning; and facing up to difficult conversations. A video of his session can be found HERE.
In March, Lyn Jenkins, GP, described Advanced Care Planning as an Act of Love because it helps Carers to do good things (like have fun) and avoid doing bad things (like over-medicalization). A video of his session can be found HERE.
COIN does not meet in April, August and December. Instead, the planning team considers next steps in the story that is emerging. Emerging issues in April included the need for multidisciplinary team-working when someone is dying at home and a need for Carers to facilitate this.
In May, Catherine Millington-Sanders, Lead for the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP)/Marie Curie EOL Daffodil Standards, described many impressive UK projects intended to improve EOL care. Please check LINK to see the video of her session.
In June, a multi-perspective discussion described the ambitions of the Lancet Commission for EOL Care (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02314-X/fulltext) and a need for EOL Carers to be skilled at developing communities for health. Contributors included Holly Ashforth from Central London Community Health (community services) and Ros Taylor from Hillington Hospice who described their work to achieve EOL Carer support at scale. Watch a video of the session HERE.
In July, further exploration of issues to do with EOL Carers included an interview of a professional EOL Carer. Gracieli Tavares described the need for EOL Carers to adapt to the culture of different families and how common it is for people to want to harm Carers (Professional and Informal) as a projection of their anxieties. See a video of her interview HERE.
In September, James Kingsland, Lead of the UK Complete Care Programme, a national network of advanced Primary Care Networks (PCNs) spoke about the potential for PCNs to lead integrated practice at community level, including EOL Care. A video of the session can be found HERE.
In October, Gerry Gorman, professor and hospice nurse from Chicago USA, discussed transformative justice. A video of her session can be found HERE. This emphasises the good that can come out of damaging situations through good process (e.g. truth and reconciliation commission of South Africa). Similar good process could be used in EOL situations to unify people for Healthy Deaths and healthy lives.
In November, Liz Wewiora, director of Liverpool’s Open Eye gallery described community embedded photography as a way to help people to build healthy communities. Participants acknowledged the power of co-creative activity more generally to unify people in positive ways. Please see a video of the session HERE.
At the end of 2022, COIN concludes that great good can come when organisations in a local area agree principles of a Healthy Death and help EOL Carers to apply these principles to their situations. PCNs are well placed to lead such initiatives at scale, working with General Practices, Community Services, Supermarkets, Undertakers, Pharmacists, Faith Groups, Schools and others. The approach could help to develop and sustain compassionate communities.
In 2023, COIN will support initiatives that move forward such thinking and explore lessons from other initiatives that build trusted relationships within healthy communities.
Happy 2023
Community-Oriented Integration Network (COIN) Planning Team:
Paul Thomas: FRCGP. MD. Carer. Author - Collaborating for Health, 2018, Routledge. Pthomas300006@gmail.com
Laura Calamos: PhD, APRN, FHEA. lcphdfnp@gmail.com
Lucy Kwapisiewicz: COIN Coordinator. Head of Committee Services at British Society of Gastroenterology. lucja.kwapisiewicz@gmail.com
Chris Brophy: Solicitor. Director of Resolving Together Ltd. chris@resolvingtogether.com.
Linda Lang: Educationalist. prof.lindalang@gmail.com.
COIN Blogs: http://www.healthmatters.org.uk