The University of Glasgow awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science to Derek Doyle, one of the pioneers of modern palliative care, in July 2014. Since then Dr Doyle has been a popular and regular contributor to our blog. Here he blogs about the origins of palliative medicine as a specialty. Some readers may… Continue reading
In this short video presentation I discuss what we know about ways to identify people who are in the last year of their life or who might have palliative care needs. I start by setting out the global context, showing how many people in the world currently die every year, and explaining why this is… Continue reading
There is lots of interest in deaths cafés right now. As part of our research project Global Interventions at the End of Life we are examining death cafés as a ‘cultural intervention’ – how they have come about, who organises and attends them, what part they may play in wider discourses about death and dying… Continue reading
Dr Thomas J Lynch of Johns Hopkins University asks whether at the ‘end’ there is any ‘point’? I left the North-West of England for the Eastern Seaboard of the United States of America almost 18 months ago to take a position at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Since my arrival in the USA, I have… Continue reading
Copenhagen was home to Hans Christian Anderson and Soren Kierkegaard, so at this conference I was hoping for a stimulating mix of narrative and reflection. That was certainly present in some of the sessions. There were good stories to be told and some deep thinking in evidence about the challenges that palliative care faces. The… Continue reading
Our University of Glasgow study team, supported by a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award, is examining how responses to end of life issues are developing around the world, and with what consequences. Death, dying and bereavement are topics that mainly sit on the margins of the humanities and social sciences. Whilst end of life care attracts… Continue reading
The 1970s and 1980s saw palliative care services starting all over Britain – hospices and NHS ‘continuing care units’, day units, home care services, hospital consultation services, ‘hospice at home’. Those were undeniably exciting times but they brought many problems and challenges. Where were the trained staff? There were no plans or policies in place… Continue reading
Just before Easter 1961, Cicely Saunders sat down to send greetings to a colleague. It was someone who shared her interests in developing special facilities and approaches for the care of the dying – especially those with advanced cancer. Nothing unusual in that. She was now getting into her stride with a growing ambition… Continue reading
