A national conference for Health and Social Care Professionals will take place from 4.30pm Thursday 23rd June to 1.00pm Saturday 25th June 2016 at St Mary’s University, Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, Greater London, TW1 4SX.

‘Called to Care’ will focus on the spiritual vocation of all of the people who work in health and care through presentations from renowned professionals and figures in the Catholic Church along with a range of practice workshops, considering the individual call, the impact on practice and the ways we cope when faced with daily challenges. The event will be of interest to people of faith in this work – Doctors, Social Workers, Chaplains, Nurses, HCAs, Social Care Managers, Allied Professionals to Health and other professional supporting Health and Social Care practice. The event brings this broad group together for the first time at a national level with the support of the Health and Social Care Advisory Group of the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales. ‘Called to Care‘ has the following objectives:

• To support and deepen the vocation and spirituality of those being called to care
• To explore ways in which faith in practice can enhance the quality of care and compassion in health and social care organisations
• To enable participants to apply the insights of Catholic Social Teaching to current issues in Health and Social Care policy and practice. With best practice workshops covering, Vocation – what it means to be called, Chaplaincy practice, guidance and research, Mental Health, Palliative Care, Pilgrim Carers, International Health and Care in development and war torn places, Spirituality in Care, Retaining your values when under stress, Responding to resource pressures from a Christian perspective.

Keynote speakers will include HE Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, Duncan Selbie, Chief Executive, Public Health England, Paul Farmer, Chief Executive, MIND and Dr Anna Rowlands, Senior Lecturer, Durham University. The cost of the conference is £250 inclusive of accommodation, meals and conference materials and presentations. The day rate for Friday 24th June is £80 and the Sessional Fee for Thursday 23rd June, including supper or Saturday 25th June including lunch (excluding evening dinner) is £40.

Download the Conference Flyer

Download the Conference Registration Form

Thank you to Gail Sainsbury, the Catholic Bishops’ Mental Health Project Officer, for sharing this information with us.