Published: 7 June 2024
On 14 May, the University of Sunderland in London hosted the 3rd annual Health and Social Care and Nursing conference – welcoming a range of senior Care sector practitioners to our campus and providing students with valuable industry insight for their studies and future careers.
The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Innovative ways of caring: Education, research, and practice’ – with contributions from leading professionals in the Care sector and from Health and Social care and nursing and public health students at the University of Sunderland in London (UoSiL).
The event opened with a welcome address from Prof Michael Young, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) University of Sunderland. Dr Neil Churchill OBE, Director of People and Communities - NHS England, as chair then set the scene for the day explaining how the Care sector is “a fast-moving sector where innovation is crucial, and how collaboration is essential in any health and social care career”.
Students showcase their research
Showcasing research and poster session gave the opportunity to witness the brilliant work being undertaken by internal and external researchers. This included five nursing and public health students presenting their research, covering topics such as digital technologies in healthcare delivery and barriers to childhood immunization uptake.
MSc Public Health student, Peggy Suobo, said being able to present her research, on preventive treatment of Dengue infections in India, gave her “Added confidence to openly share my research, especially given that I had worked on it mostly behind closed doors. I was proud to showcase my commitment to my research topic.”.
Sharing innovation in the sector
The conference welcomed a range of key practitioners in the Care sector such as Professor Jill Manthorpe CBE, Professor Emerita - King’s College London, Nadra Ahmed CBE DL, Executive Chairman - National Care Association, Sharon Allen OBE FCGI, Arthur Rank Hospice charity and Charlotte Osborne-Ford of National Academy of Social Prescribing, who highlighted the role and range of innovations in all aspects of care including social prescribing, dementia, and palliative care. The key message was “Innovation isn’t all about big ideas and technology – it happens in everyday care work”.
“In an ageing world, the demand for care delivery will continue to grow.” explained Charles Lowe, of Digital Health and Care Alliance, as he urged the more than 100 attendees at the HSCN conference to drive further innovation and technological adoption to provide better care. UoSiL’s Dr Theo Ammari also presented on Generative AI as a tool for improving practices.
The conference’s lead organiser, UoSiL’s Dr Rekha Elaswarapu, Lecturer (Health and Social Care) expressed her thanks to contributors and summed up by saying how
“Innovative ways of caring are essential to ensure that the care professionals are providing person-centred care. This involves investing in understanding individual clinical and cultural needs and preferences. Such an approach should be applied at all stages of life, for all health conditions, and for all factions of society.”
