On Thursday 1st October, The Myton Hospices hosted the South Warwickshire End of Life Care Champions Network at Warwick Myton Hospice for a training workshop exploring No Barriers Here©, a creative and inclusive approach to advance care planning.
The session introduced around 30 health and social care professionals from across South Warwickshire to the No Barriers Here© approach, from its origins in co-production with people with learning disabilities to the many ways it is now being used in communities around the world.
The workshop aimed to equip professionals with a better understanding of the approach, while also encouraging them to reflect on their own thoughts and wishes around death and dying, helping them to better support the people in their care.
The afternoon included an interactive workshop using collage, colour and images to explore identity, dignity and what matters most to each person when thinking about their future care. By using creative activities alongside fewer words, participants were encouraged to consider how they understand themselves and how they want to be understood by those who care for them.
The session offered an introduction to the first of three workshops within the No Barriers Here© methodology. The second explores individual care priorities and wishes around dying, death and what happens afterwards, while the third focuses on legacy and the lasting impact we leave behind.
Ellie Clack, Spiritual Care Lead at The Myton Hospices and lead for its No Barriers Here© work, said:
We had a great time exploring how an arts-based approach, using fewer words and more images, can transform conversations about future care priorities and wishes.
There are many under-represented and under-served communities who do not have easy access to palliative and end of life care services and may miss out on opportunities to have meaningful advance care planning conversations. No Barriers Here© seeks to address this through creative, inclusive and compassionate approaches.
Many of the participants who joined us caught a glimpse of what the approach can offer, and some are already looking to take part in facilitator training in the future.
At Myton, a group of participants is currently taking part in No Barriers Here© workshops at a local Gurdwara. With an expanding team of trained facilitators, Myton is also exploring opportunities to offer the workshops more widely in 2027.
To find out more about No Barriers Here, visit the link below...
Community groups interested in exploring how Myton could support No Barriers Here© workshops can contact Ellie Clack at spiritual.care@mytonhospice.org
