Episode 61: A Conversation with Dr. Julian Abel on elevating compassion

The Hospice Chaplaincy Show with Saul Ebema

Since 2016, he has worked with Frome Medical Practice in Somerset, UK to develop a new model of primary care combined with compassionate communities, one of the most effective therapeutic tools we have in improving length of life and well-being. The health outcomes of this model have been dramatic, with this being the first intervention that has been effective in reducing population emergency admissions.

Along with Professor Allan Kellehear, Dr. Abel formed Compassionate Communities UK, which he is Director with a mandate to develop the broader rollout of compassionate communities in both primary care and end-of-life care. Projects are underway in multiple areas in the UK, and several international cities.

Dr. Abel is joint author of The Compassion Project, along with the prize-winning novelist Lindsay Clarke. The book describes the background to the Frome Project, its implementation and the wider implications of the application of compassion both in medicine and in society at large.

He has published regularly on models of public health palliative care, is an international keynote speaker, appears in media and runs a podcast, Survival of the Kindest.

He will also be speaking at the Elevate compassion virtual summit. You can register to attend the summit for free here.