Values are what drive us.  The mention of hunger or of food poverty, is likely to elicit an exposure of our individual values, as these are emotive triggers. But serious topics such as these merit more than just a small instant charitable donation.  For those of us working in health and social care, working with hunger and food poverty is an integral part of our professional business. Not only does hunger drastically restrict the lifestyles and wellbeing of our patients and clients, but it also results in increased pressures on healthcare and social care providers, including third sector organisations.

This seminar is focused on bringing the voices of those affected most by technology change in the NHS into the conversation. We shall discuss positive and negative impacts of innovation on different stakeholders (doctors, nurses, patients, etc) and the future role of stakeholders in both small-scale and large-scale innovation. Using case-studies we will explore the impact of Digital Health and Innovation on healthcare delivery. 

The aim of this Advanced Seminar is to draw together insights from phenomenological psychopathology and values-based practice to promote the co-creation of models in mental health care through the contribution of people with lived experiences of mental illness and other mental health challenges. In focusing on the concept of lived experience, sometimes referred to as ‘Expertise by Experience” (or EbE) in the mental health research literature,  aim to explore crossroads of experiences as the result of a dialogue among experts by training (mental health professionals, researchers, social and mental health workers, etc.) and experts by experience, in light of a new consideration of the cardinal role of personalisation in contemporary mental health care.

We will introduce the Network, explore together the vision, and move towards this. This is a Network that exists together and exists for us. The process of exchange, dialogue, and discussion is not a means to an end but the very essence of our Network.

A potential route to flourishing has been hiding in plain sight. The rod of Asclepius with a coiled snake is a powerful symbol that pervades medical branding. What does it symbolise and what are the values behind it?

The word Asklepion is derived from the name of the Greek God of Healing – Asclepius. The Asklepion Project is seeks to explore the Ancient Greek concept of the Asklepion (Healing centre) as a nexus of ideals to explore the heart, mind and spirit of healthcare. It will look specifically at enacted and embodied phronesis in healthcare professionals and the environments in which they work, contemplating what a practically wise organisation would look like.

Aristotle suggested that Phronesis (Practical Wisdom) is the route to Eudaimonia (flourishing). Initial work has been done hypothesising a connection between wisdom, meaning, purpose, goals of medicine and flourishing. This seminar seeks to promote dialogue and debate about how to perform further practical research and operationalise some of these ideas in real healthcare settings.

It is hoped that it will also inspire others interested in flourishing and professional values and virtues in medicine to expand on this work

The past few years have seen profound challenges to the way of life established in the Western world since 1945.

The covid-19 pandemic has changed everything temporarily and seems likely to have lasting impacts on our everyday lives. Overwhelming evidence of accelerating climate change requires us to consider far-reaching changes to our economic structures and built environments. The internet now allows far greater individual connectivity than was previously possible, but this has brought with it widespread misinformation which threatens to undermine our political institutions.