Very soon Dame Barbara Monroe will retire after a tremendous term of office as Chief Executive at St Christopher’s Hospice in South London – and many years there before that as a practising social worker. The event set me thinking about the early origins of St Christopher’s and some of the factors that shaped its… Continue reading
This week I want to focus on a recent blogpost by the sociologist Yasmin Gunaratnum, about the values we place on differing deaths. I was drawn to Yasmin’s piece at a time when, like many others I was trying to make sense of the rape and murder of two young Dalit girls in India. Yasmin’s… Continue reading
This week sees the ‘world’ congress of palliative care research taking place in Lleida, Spain. I am not attending, though it is good to keep up with the event by reading the abstracts that have been published in the June edition of Palliative Medicine and by following #EAPC2014. Actually, I have grown a bit sceptical… Continue reading
I am working on a new book at the moment, entitled To Comfort Always: A history of palliative medicine from the nineteenth century. In the opening chapter, I try to tease out some of the approaches to pain relief that were developing during the Victorian period in Britain. It is a fascinating trajectory. As the… Continue reading
Billy Connolly’s Big Send Off has done a lot to raise public interest in funerals, rituals and memorials of various kinds, and has touched and amused us in the process. The recent and hugely successful Dying Matters awareness week – You Only Die Once (#YODO) – has also drawn attention to end of life care needs across… Continue reading
Have you ever considered how you might like to die? You may have made a will, but do you have an advance care plan stating your wishes and preferences for when your life comes to an end? You may have a ‘bucket list’ of things you want to do before you die, but where and… Continue reading
As the volume of new commentary and information on end of life issues increases it can be hard to step back from the daily flow of material. I’ve always enjoyed the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Pick of the Week’, so from time to time on the blog I will pick out some of the… Continue reading
I was delighted by the interest in Watch with Me following my recent post and set out to find a pdf of the 2005 version. Fortunately it was still there on an old laptop. So here it is: Watch with Me full text 2005 (PDF) along with Watch with Me cover details 2005 (PDF)… Continue reading
