This is a chance to enjoy recordings of three leading academics presenting their research into end of life in hospitals in Scotland, Denmark and New Zealand and hear them comparing the differences between the three countries in a lively public discussion. We’d love you to join in the discussion, so please leave your comments or… Continue reading
Published in German 10 years after the death of Cicely Saunders, Der Horizont ist nur die Grenze unserer Sicht is a worthy tribute to her and a significant contribution to the continuing Saunders legacy. Diverse in content, liberal leaning in its theology, Beyond the Horizon has roots deep in tradition and draws on several cultures,… Continue reading
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how generous people can be with their time and their experiences, even when times are impossibly tough. I’ve worked for the charity Parkinson’s UK for the last eight years. In that time I have met hundreds of people whose reality is dominated by the emotional and… Continue reading
The public has responded to a call for views on the state of palliative care in Scotland, and with the publication of these submissions the Scottish Parliament Inquiry into Palliative Care is making rapid progress. I am struck by two things: the great variety of these responses, but also the rather low volume. Perhaps that tells… Continue reading
A United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Dying and Seriously Ill could improve global standards for all people at the end of life, proposes Sharon Young of Kingston University. End of life care provision varies widely throughout the world. Standards of care available to the dying and seriously ill depend upon the… Continue reading
Two of the most influential right-to-die campaigners in the UK, Debbie Purdy and Tony Nicklinson, died after voluntarily refusing food and fluid, as well as refusing antibiotics. This sparked my interest in this method of suicide as a natural extension of my research into debates around assisted suicide (Richards 2012; Richards 2014). It was reported in the press that… Continue reading
These are important times for palliative and end of life care in Scotland, and with an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into palliative care we are all eager to see what the outcomes will be. But first we must all play our part. I am already involved as the Consulting Editor in the production of the Scottish… 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
