The WeCare Chair: End-of-Life Care at UIC Barcelona and Áltima, leader in the funeral sector in Catalonia, have sponsored the 1st Áltima-WeCare Chair: Excellence in Palliative Care Awards. The awards were presented on 8 May in the Domènech i Muntaner Hall of the Sant Pau Modernist complex and were hosted by journalist Jèssica del Moral.

Attended by almost a hundred people, the gala served to recognise teams and projects at the forefront of research and care in palliative care.

In this first edition, proposals were received from all over Spain and an independent scientific jury that guaranteed maximum rigour and prestige in the scientific and healthcare community, awarded the following institutions:

• Palliative Care and Complex Chronic Patient Service of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu (Esplugues de Llobregat, Barcelona) with the Award for Leadership, Defence and Promotion of Palliative Care, which recognises those people or entities that defend the rights of patients and families, or promote policies and training in this field.
   
• Associació de Famílies de Nens Oncològics de Catalunya (AFANOC), with the Award for the Impact of Palliative Care in the Community, which recognises initiatives that promote improved care, public awareness or education about palliative care.
   
• Palliative Care Service of the Hospital Universitario Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Tenerife), with the Award for Professional Clinical Excellence in Palliative Care, for professionals or teams that stand out in their care work.

The Áltima-WeCare Chair Awards: Excellence in Palliative Care were created with the aim of recognising and rewarding excellence in support, comprehensive care and scientific innovation in the field of palliative care, key areas for improving the quality of life of patients and their families at critical times.

At the awards ceremony, Dr Cristina Monforte and Dr Joaquim Julià, directors of the WeCare Chair, celebrated the success of the first edition of these awards, stressing that “they highlight the important task of those professionals who work to provide the best possible quality of life for people who, for health reasons, find themselves in times of extreme difficulty.” 

In this first edition of the awards, Valencian designer Dídac Ballester – a leading figure in visual identity and editorial design, and winner of four Laus Awards – was the artist chosen by Impars to design the trophy awarded to the winning initiatives.