From Bedside to Breakthrough:
A Symposium by Helen & Douglas House
Wednesday 24th September, 18:30-20:30
Magdalen College, Oxford
From Bedside to Breakthrough:
A Symposium by Helen & Douglas House
Wednesday 24th September,
18:30-20:30
Magdalen College, Oxford
Join us for an evening to hear about how Helen & Douglas House is pioneering the very best children’s hospice care in the UK.
The Symposium will showcase our groundbreaking research and how this is improving the quality of care for children and their families, both at Helen & Douglas House and beyond.
For over 40 years, we have pioneered the very best children’s hospice care in the UK. As the world’s first children’s hospice, Helen & Douglas House has gone on to inspire 54 others across the UK, and more around the world. We were the first to stand up and say children have a human right to a dignified, pain-free death. Since the very beginning, we have ensured that our discoveries have been shared beyond Helen & Douglas House, and over the years our research has increased, both in the number of papers written and the complexity.
Discover groundbreaking achievements, hear powerful stories, and explore exciting plans shaping the future of this vital work.
For any queries about the event, please contact [email protected]
Event Timings
18:30 – Drinks and canapes served
19:00 – Into the Auditorium for the panel discussion
20:00 – Drinks and the chance to meet our panel
Meet our expert panel
Host: Jennie Younger
A Trustee of Helen & Douglas House since 2022, Jennie was appointed Chair of Trustees in September 2024.
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Jennie has held senior executive positions in world-leading, global organisations with forty years of experience in Philanthropy, Investor Relations, Corporate Affairs, Communications and Corporate Responsibility in the Healthcare, Financial Services, Higher Education and NHS Charities. She holds non-executive roles at Chairman level in charity and commercial organisations.
Most recently Jennie has been Executive Director of Fundraising and Supporter Development at King’s College and a member of the University’s leadership team, a role she held from 2017 until 2024. During her time, Jennie led a team to deliver an integrated fundraising and Alumni relations programme across King’s College London, King’s Health Partners and Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Hospital, raising over £250m in philanthropic income in support of strategic priorities.
Prior to joining King’s, Jennie was Vice President and Global Head of Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca. Before that, Jennie was Senior Managing Director at management consultants, FTI Consulting, and Global Head of Communications and Client Marketing for Corporate and Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank. Prior to this, Jennie was Global Head of Corporate Communications, Corporate Responsibility and Community Partnerships at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). In 2004 Jennie won the “European Women of Achievement Award for Business” in 20024 for her achievements at GSK and for women in business.
Jennie started her career as an Investment Analyst at Kleinwort Benson and Barclays de Zoete Wedd. She graduated from Exeter University in the UK, where she gained an honours degree in Psychology. Jennie is also Non-Executive Chairman of the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI). www.uk-cpi.com
Dr Emily Harrop, Medical Director MBBS BSc DCH FRCPCH PhD Dip Pal Med
Emily has been a Consultant in Paediatric Palliative Care at Helen & Douglas House Hospices since 2010, and the Medical Director since 2019. She is also an Honorary Consultant at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust.
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She is active in research in the field of pain & symptom management and mentors postgraduate research students in the field of palliative medicine.
Emily undertook her specialist palliative care training at Great Ormond Street Hospital (including a postgraduate, diploma in Palliative Medicine); before this she completed a PhD in Neuroscience (Neonatal Pain) as well as some postgraduate training in Paediatric Clinical Pharmacology. Her other roles include Research Lead of the Association of Paediatric Palliative Medicine (APPM), and clinical leadership roles for the local Integrated Care Board (BOB) and Strategic Clinical Network (NHS SE England).
Emily has acted as the Co-chair of the WHO Guidelines on the management of chronic pain in children and the Deputy Chair of the NICE Clinical Guideline Development Group for End-of-Life care in Babies, Children & Young People (NG61).
Emily was made an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Oxford in 2024.
She also has a keen interest in supporting international children’s palliative care and is a member of the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) children and young people’s taskforce.
Dr Bethan Page
Bethan is a Lecturer in children’s health and palliative care research at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London. Her research focuses on how to support children with medical complexity and their families. She completed her DPhil/PhD at the University of Oxford, where she explored how to improve training and support for families who care for children with complex medical needs at home. She has a background in Psychology.
Tristan Johnston-Wood
Tristan is a medical student (Graduate-entry) at the University of Oxford. He has been collaborating with Dr Emily Harrop and Dr Charlotte Holland since 2024, researching how communication skills, in the context of parents of critically ill children, are taught to medical students across the UK. Previously, he completed a DPhil in Chemistry at Oxford, modelling chemical reactions and protein dynamics in SARS-CoV-2.
Emily Tammam
Emily is a bereaved mother to Neve, who was cared for by Helen & Douglas House. She is actively involved in paediatric palliative care research as a PPI contributor. She is the parent co-chair of the Southwest NHSE PPI group and the APPM PPIG group. Other current research involvement is with Lorna Fraser’s team at the Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London, Christina Liossi’s team at Southampton University and with various teams at the University of Oxford. Emily is also the PPIE Administrator in the Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre. She has a background in group facilitation and lactation support. Finally, Emily writes and paints Neve, sharing her story and their lived experience with clinicians and researchers.