ECO has successfully organised the first ever European workshop in cleft nursing. The event which took place  in Bucharest, Romania, 15 – 16 October 2015, was a resounding success with more than 40 participants present from 17 countries including Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Estonia, Ukraine, Poland – and from Latin America (Chile and Brazil) .  Feedback has been excellent and there are lots of suggestions for the way forwards in cleft nursing including research studies and mutual support forums/networks. The event was opened by Dr Radu Spataru, Medical Director and Paediatric Surgeon at the Marie Curie Slodowska Children’s Hospital in Bucharest who warmly welcomed everyone saying it was a privilege to be chosen as host for the First European Cleft Nursing Workshop. The event had been possible thanks to generous support from the European Science Foundation through the EUROCleftNet programme. The first day provided an opportunity to define the nursing role and focus on specific areas of care including antenatal diagnosis, feeding, support for the whole family and managing additional anomalies. The backdrop to the workshop was the recently finalised report from the European Committee for Standardisation setting out guidelines on early cleft care. These were summarised at the workshop and their potential as an audit tool for assessing service delivery was highlighted. There was a strong focus on research with papers on Pierre Robin Sequence, infant follow up protocols, breastmilk feeding and growth.   There was a good range of free papers including an evaluation of the new Bulgarian nurse network, a study of post-operative feeding and pain relief, the development of an internal appliance to assist with feeding and an overview of another EUROCleftNet funded project, the lip tissue biobank (genetics research). Delegates were all asked to present on their role in their own countries and a hands on feeding equipment session allowed participants to see the wide range of feeding implements used across Europe. The second day was as well attended as the first and provided an opportunity for group discussion on highlighted topics, exploring Europe wide research opportunities and future collaboration. Of note were audit and potential research topics relating to the range of feeding equipment used, length of hospital stays, pain management and the scope of the ‘nurse role’ in different countries. The group was keen to remain in touch and a Facebook group for European cleft nurses will be set up, linked to the European Cleft Nurses Special interest Group. There was discussion about presenting collaborative studies – even as early as at the UK Craniofacial Society meeting in spring 2016. An annual European nurse’s conference would not be practical on funding grounds but there was interest in setting up local and regional networks to take forward some of the subjects that had come out of the workshop. The workshop concluded with personal feedback from each delegate which was very positive. Comments included:

• Quality and range of presentations and handouts
• Opportunity to see how others work in very different environments
• Opportunity to share and realise common problems might have common solutions thorough research and collaboration
• A better understanding of the role of cleft nurse