RCN Pain and Palliative Care Conference
Breaking Barriers: Advancing Access to Palliative and Pain Care
22 Sep 2026
Choose event information:
Last chance to book - secure your place today!
Join the RCN Pain and Palliative Care Forum for this essential one-day conference exploring critical issues in the delivery of palliative and pain services. This conference brings together leading voices to examine the barriers preventing equitable access to palliative and pain services and explore practical solutions for nursing practice.
Whether you're working in community, acute, or specialist settings, this conference will equip you with evidence-based insights, practical strategies, and professional networks to improve access to care for all patients experiencing pain or approaching the end of life.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of this conference, attendees will be able to:
- Evaluate current barriers to accessing both palliative and pain management services across different care settings and patient populations.
- Apply evidence-based strategies to improve equity and early intervention in palliative and pain care delivery.
- Discuss the evolving nursing role in contemporary palliative care and pain management, including emerging areas of practice.
Why attend?
- Gain practical, evidence-based insights you can apply immediately to improve access to palliative and pain care for your patients.
- Stay up to date with emerging practice and policy.
- Share innovations and explore complex topics across pain and palliative care nursing.
- Achieve 7.5 CPD hours towards your revalidation.
- Network with your peers and expand your professional horizons.
RCN Events team
RCNevents@rcn.org.uk
02076473577
20 Cavendish Square
Marylebone
London
W1G 0RN
20 Cavendish Square is located behind John Lewis, Oxford Street.
Tube
The nearest stations are Oxford Circus and Bond Street.
Bus
There are many buses routes that stop nearby, including the 10, 25, 55, 73, 98 and 390.
By air:
Heathrow Airport / City Airport – less than 30 minutes away
By car:
20 Cavendish Square is easily accessible from the M1 and M40 and is within London’s ULEZ and Congestion Charge zones.
The nearest car park is Q-Park Oxford Street and located under Cavendish Square.
Accessibility
We are big on equality & inclusion, and we strive to ensure everyone has the most enjoyable experience while attending an event at the venue. We believe in providing equal opportunities and access regardless of ability:
Step free access to all event spaces and meeting rooms
A ramp for stage access
Height adjustable lectern
Accessible toilets on each floor
Induction loop on request
Two wheelchair friendly passenger lifts
Strobe fire alarms and audible voice synthesisers in the lifts
Evacuation chairs
Assistance dogs are welcome
If you have any questions or an access requirement not included here, please just get in touch on +44 (0)207 6473577 or RCNevents@rcn.org.uk
Conference joining instructions will be sent by email 10 and 3 days before the event. If you have registered for the event using a work email address, there are occasions when firewall settings can block email communications reaching you. If you’re unable to locate your joining instructions, please contact a member of the events team on 0207 647 3577.
Registration
On arrival, please make your way to the RCN registration desk which will be clearly signposted. You will be issued with a programme and a name badge. Refreshments will be available through-out registration which takes place in Council Room.
Lunch
Lunch will be served at 12.30pm. If you have any specific dietary requirements, please inform us in advance so we can ensure your needs are catered for.
Specific requirements
If you have any specific requirements (e.g. hearing loop etc.), please inform us in advance so we can ensure the appropriate arrangements are in place.
Exhibition
There will be a small exhibition running alongside this event. These exhibitors have chosen to exhibit at this conference as they feel their products and/or services may be of interest to you. The exhibition also supports the conference, therefore please take the time to go and visit each exhibition stand during the exhibition viewing times.
Social media
Bluesky
You can share the conference and your experience on Bluesky, our handle is @rcn.org.uk.
Presentation and recordings
Presentations and recordings we have permissions to share will be made available to delegates approx. 2 weeks post-event.
Receipts and registration enquiries
If you require a receipt or have any queries relating to your registration or payment for this event please contact the RCN Events Registration team direct on 029 2054 6460 between 9am – 4.30pm, Monday to Friday, or email eventsreg@rcn.org.uk
Alternatively, please contact staff on the registration desk at the event.
Cancellations and substitutions
Only cancellations received 1 week before the start of the event will be refunded, minus a £25 administration fee. Regrettably, no refunds can be processed after this date.
Places can be substituted at any time. Please contact the RCN Event Registrations team on 029 20546460 with details of name changes.
After the event
Please take a few minutes to complete the evaluation at the end of the event. All answers will be treated in the strictest confidence and will help us to shape future events, both online and face to face.
The RCN Pain and Palliative Care Forum look forward to welcoming you to the conference.
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Categories & Rates - Member, Student etc |
Day rate ex VAT |
Day rate inc VAT |
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Member
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£135 +VAT |
£162 |
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Non-Member
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£200 + VAT |
£240 |
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Member: pre-reg student, nursing support worker, retired member |
£75 + VAT |
£90 |
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RCN representatives (25% discount)
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£101.25 + VAT |
£121.50 |
Join the RCN to be immediately eligible for the member rate.
Discounts available (max one per booking) - redeemable via telephone/booking form only.
25% discount - Accredited RCN representatives, forum steering committee members or any member that has been elected to undertake an official RCN role.
10% discount - Group discount when three or more delegates book together. To make a booking
Conditions and exclusions
Discounted offers cannot be combined. Only one discount can be used for each booking whether it is an individual or group booking.
Discounts cannot be accumulated or redeemed when booking online. Please contact RCN Event Registration to book a discounted place.
To make a booking
Online bookings are the easiest and fastest way to book 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Bookings can be made by phone with payment by credit card/Maestro, by calling +44 (0)2920 546460. Lines are open from 9.30am - 4.30pm Monday to Friday.
Bookings can also be made via email with a downloaded booking form with credit card details or payment/remittance advice emailed to eventsreg@rcn.org.uk.
All bookings will be confirmed in writing.
You will not be registered for this event unless payment accompanies your application. Places cannot be held provisionally.
The RCN reserves the right to refuse any booking at any time.
Request a Secure link
You can now pay for event bookings via secure link, please complete a booking form for each delegate (disregarding the payment section). Send the forms to eventsreg@rcn.org.uk, we will calculate the amount to be paid and email you the payment link from Elavon. The payment link will be valid for 7 days.
On receipt of your payment, we will book your space/s and send your delegate/s confirmation of their bookings.
To pay by invoice
To pay by invoice you must send all of the below to eventsreg@rcn.org.uk
• A copy of the Purchase Order document from your organisation or company (we cannot process your order without it).
• Your Finance department/accounts payable contact email address to receive an electronic copy of the invoice from us.
• A completed RCN Events Booking Form for each delegate in the booking.
Once the invoice has been raised, you will then receive confirmation of your delegate booking on the event requested. Invoices are to be paid within 30 days of the invoice being issued.
View the event Terms and Conditions.
Please note these programme details and timings are subject to change. A final programme will be circulated prior to the event.
Martin Galligan
Pain and Palliative Care Forum Chair and Senior Lecturer, The Royal Marsden School
Martin Is a lecturer practitioner and Programme lead for Advanced Clinical Practice in Cancer Care MSc pathway at The Royal Marsden School.
His background has been largely devoted towards pain management and has worked as both a clinical nurse specialist and lead nurse across acute, chronic, and complex cancer pain settings. He has a passion for cancer pain, pain education and development of pain services. In his previous role as Lead Nurse for Acute Pain services he was able to lead the team to win Acute Pain Team of the Year at the UK National Acute Pain Symposium 2018. He is the current chair and founder of the Pain Nurse Network and chair of RCN Pain and Palliative Care Forum. He is an elected member of the British Pain Society Pain Education Special Interest Group, and has been appointed to EFIC Academy board and a member of the EFIC Covid-19 task force and nursing working group.
His research interest is focused on knowledge and attitudes of healthcare professionals in relation to pain management. He has completed a pre-clinical academic fellowship awarded by the Royal Marsden Charity and is now undertaking doctoral studies at Kings College London exploring the needs of healthcare professionals when managing complex cancer pain.
Dr Ben Bowers
Assistant Professor of Primary Care and Queen's Nurse / Honorary Nurse Consultant in Palliative Care, CPFT
Ben is an internationally recognised clinical academic community nurse. Ben leads a programme of interdisciplinary research focused on improving care of the dying at home and his team is based with the University of Cambridge. Ben is also the Deputy Theme Lead for NIHR ARC East of England’s Palliative and End of Life Care theme. In 2023, Ben was named as one of the 75 nurses and midwives whose work has had an especially significant impact on the NHS since its creation. He received the RCGP & Society for Academic Primary Care Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award in 2024 and the European Association for Palliative Care Early Researcher Award 2023.
Kelly Moffat
Lead Nurse for Acute Palliative care, NHS Lothian
Kelly Moffat is Lead Nurse for Acute Palliative Care in NHS Lothian and has dedicated her career to improving the delivery of palliative and end-of-life care. With a background in specialist palliative care and an MSc in Person-Centred Palliative Care, she combines clinical expertise with strategic leadership to drive service development and innovation. Kelly has a particular interest in compassionate leadership, person-centred practice, and addressing inequities in access to care. She works collaboratively across healthcare systems to improve quality, support education and workforce development, and influence palliative care policy and practice.
Alison Williams
Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist, NHS Lothian
Alison Williams is a Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist in Palliative Care at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, with over 25 years of nursing experience. Her early career was predominantly in the Emergency Department, where she worked as a Nurse Practitioner and Research Nurse, developing expertise in acute and complex patient care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, her role in research nursing led to a growing interest in end-of-life and palliative care, prompting a transition into the specialty through a secondment post, which progressed to a permanent CNS role and, more recently, a senior position within the service. Alison works within a small, specialist palliative care team in a busy acute hospital environment, supporting patients with complex needs across multiple specialties and coordinating care with community services to facilitate complex discharges. She has a strong interest in service improvement and is committed to driving initiatives that enhance patient-centred care and service delivery.
Olajumoke Isaiah
Macmillan team lead in Palliative & End of life care, Newham University Hospital
Olajumoke is currently a team lead for palliative and end of life care at Newham University Hospital (Bart Health NHS trust) which serves the East London population, one of England’s most ethnically diverse communities. As a specialist nurse with almost two decades of experience different specialities such as surgery, oncology and palliative care. Olajumoke is passionate about patient care and satisfaction being at the centre of service improvement. Olajumoke’s interests are health inequalities, patient satisfaction, and the mental wellbeing of specialist nurses in palliative care.
Dr Cathryn Smith
Professional lead community nursing and end of life Care, RCN
Cathryn Smith is the Professional Lead for Adult Community Nursing and End-of-Life-Care. Her working experience includes various clinical and leadership nursing roles across community care and educational roles in higher education. She achieved a master’s degree in Community Health Studies and has undertaken a PhD focusing on caring for people with dementia at end-of-life. Her specialities include community nursing with a keen interest in end-of-life and dementia care; her values focus on the importance of this role and how research and evidence implementation can benefit both nurses and patients within the community.
Dr Helen Makins
Consultant Pain Anaesthetist and National Clinical Lead, GIRFT Chronic Pain Programme, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Helen is a consultant pain medicine anaesthetist at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHSFT. She is the national clinical lead for the Getting it Right First Time Chronic Pain programme, improving pathways across community, primary and hospital services for people of all ages with chronic pain. She is passionate about the importance of pain education for clinicians, the untapped potential of communication to support patients and the benefits of holistic management across pathways.
Vic Sorel-Cameron
Clinical Nurse Specialist, UCLH
Vic is a clinical nurse specialist, working full time with the Cancer Pain Intervention Service at UCLH. She has over 18 years nursing experience with the last 10 years spent working across palliative care, oncology and pain management. Vic has a significant amount of experience managing intrathecal pumps for cancer related pain and is an independent non-medical prescriber. She is currently working towards a master’s in advanced clinical practice.
Nicola Davis
Clinical Nurse Specialist - Pain Nurse, Birmingham Children's Hospital
Clinical Nurse Specialist in the Pain team at Birmingham Children's Hospital for 17 years.
Rachel Barton
Senior Lecturer in Healthcare and Continued Professional Development, Edge Hill University
Rachael graduated as an adult Nurse from Edge Hill University in 2007 and began her career in primary care, developing a strong interest in pain management and palliative care. She completed an MSc in Pain Management at Cardiff University while gaining specialist experience in neurology, neurosurgery and pain, later becoming a Clinical Nurse Specialist in chronic pain. Her work included non medical prescribing, opioid management, neuropathic pain expertise, and establishing a respected nurse led capsaicin treatment service. Since moving into Higher Education in 2021, Rachael has become a Programme Lead and HEA Fellow, with a passion for high quality pain education and improving patient outcomes.
Charlotte Sear
Senior Specialist Advanced Clinical Practioner (pain medicine), Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital
Charlotte qualified as a registered adult nurse from Kings College London university in 2011. She started her career as a thoracic surgical nurse and specialised in pain management in 2015. She has experience in managing both acute and chronic pain and has completed specialist training to enhance her skill and knowledge.
Charlotte graduated from Cardiff University in 2018 with an MSc in Pain Management with merit. She has also completed the advanced history taking and non-medical prescribing modules at Oxford Brookes University. In 2024 Charlotte received her European Diploma in Pain Nursing from EFIC.
Charlotte currently works as a Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pain Management at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospital part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Charlotte has a specialist interest in acute post-operative pain management and the management of neuropathic pain.
Karin Cannons
Nurse Consultant, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
A member of the RCN since a student nurse, Karin qualified as a nurse in 1987 from Bart’ Hospital. Since then she has worked in a variety of clinical areas including critical care. As the Nurse Consultant for Pain Management in a large NHS district general hospital foundation Trust, she works clinically with inpatients and outpatients. Karin is the service lead for the Inpatient/Acute and Outpatient/Chronic pain services that are provided to the 3 hospitals in her Trust. Passionate about patient comfort, staff support and education Karin co-authored the RCN’s Pain Knowledge and Skills Framework for the Nursing Team in 2015. A long-term member of the British Pain Society, Karin is a committee member of the Head Pain Special Interest Group (SIG) and an active member of the Acute Pain, Philosophy and Ethics, Education and Developing Countries SIGs. Karin’s research interests include non-medical prescribing and opioid reduction in patients with long-term use.
Christina Gullberg
Pain Nurse Network Chair
Christina Gullberg (MSc, BSc, RN) is a Senior Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pain Management at The Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in London. Her background is cardiothoracic nursing which led to an interest in pain management. In 2024 Christina received her European Diploma in Pain Nursing from EFIC.
I have a particular interest in pain management after cardiothoracic surgery and the use of transitional pathways to prevent persistent pain after surgery and treatment.
I have been fortunate enough over the years to be able to share my experiences and work presenting both nationally and internationally.
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Page last updated - 09/09/2026
