On the 16th and 17th May 2024, members of the Spires Cleft Centre and close colleagues from across the United Kingdom came together to celebrate two decades since the formation of our service.
The Spires 20th Anniversary Conference successfully showcased the hard work and dedication of our team – past and present – to deliver first class cleft care to our patients and their families. It was fantastic to hear former members of the Spires team share their incredible experiences of cleft care in both the UK and internationally, and to celebrate the journey and achievements of the Spires Cleft Centre.
We are incredibly proud of our team and those who support us from further afield and we thank them for sharing their knowledge and delivering presentations that highlighted best practice and cutting-edge developments in cleft care. We are hugely appreciative of the families who gave up their time to share their personal cleft journeys; this was incredibly moving and is the motivation that keeps us striving to be innovative, progressive and deliver outstanding care.
A highlight of the conference was ‘For the Record’ – a creative project to reflect on patient experience of cleft care across two decades using archived medical records. Mother and son Sharon and Connor Dean worked with creative artist, Stephanie Jalland, and photographer, Jason Dimmock, to create a moving and insightful exhibition of words and images reflecting on their experiences from baby to adulthood. Mum, Sharon, said, “Mums, they need to see this; there are times you think, ‘Is it really going to be ok?’. They need to see so they know they are going to be ok.”
We are enormously grateful to Sharon and Connor for sharing their experiences, to Stephanie and Jason for the care and dedication with which they undertook the project, and to The Stars Appeal and Oxford Charitable Trust for their sponsorship.
