I feel moved to write having read about your work in Melanie Reid’s article in The Times (14 March). I have a deep personal interest in end of life care. My daughter Megan Young died of cancer in January 2010, aged 32. My husband died of cancer in 1990, aged 42. I have also experienced… Continue reading
Melanie Reid is an enormously respected journalist who writes a much-followed piece in The Times every Saturday. ‘Spinal column’ is her weekly set of reflections on life and the wider world – seen from the perspective of a person who is now tetrapelgic following a riding accident. Imagine then, the pleasure of reading her brilliant piece for… Continue reading
Cicely Saunders was born in North London on 22 June 1918, the first of three children and the only daughter to Gordon and Chrissie Saunders. Her father was a successful estate agent and as his prosperity grew, the family enjoyed a range of middle class material comforts, living at Hadley Green among gardens, tennis courts… Continue reading
I have just attended for the first time the annual meeting of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, held jointly with the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association. The venue was Philadelphia – the city of brotherly love – and over 3,000 people attended, mainly from the USA, but with small numbers from some… Continue reading
In previous posts I have told how exciting it was when the ‘pioneers’ of hospice/palliative care realised that, much as they thought they were introducing something new to patient care, they were in fact pleading for recognition and acceptance of the most basic, undeniable, ages-old features of compassionate care. Cynics described that as ‘reinventing the… Continue reading
The more we contemplate the end of life care needs of different countries around the world, the more I become convinced of the need for fresh bold thinking. So it was a pleasure to see the work of the Commission on Residential Care, supported by the admirable Demos group, which reported last autumn on its… Continue reading
Thanks to David Clark for allowing us to introduce readers of his blog to our recent publication entitled Death, Dying, and Bereavement: Contemporary Perspectives, Institutions, and Practices. Written by luminaries who have shaped the field, this capstone book distills the collective wisdom of foremost scholars and practitioners who together have nearly a millennium of experience… Continue reading
We are pleased to announce details of this exciting opportunity to study for a PhD in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, Dumfries Campus. The Dame Barbara Kelly Fellowship has been awarded by the Crichton Foundation in recognition of the ongoing contribution made by Dame Barbara to the development of further and higher… Continue reading
