The Glasgow End of Life Studies Group hosted a very lively and well-attended ‘Talk & Tea’ on March 22nd. The event showcased a range of research and initiatives related to later and end of life, and brought together a diverse group of community members. We organized the event to highlight how our work takes place… Continue reading
This invitation stems from meeting Margaret Dobie, who I first got to know last fall, shortly after I arrived in Dumfries to join the Glasgow End of Life Studies Group. Margaret has attended many of the Group’s community events in Dumfries and Galloway over the last two years, and when I wrote my first post… Continue reading
There’s a buzz around about ‘mixing’ across the generations, bringing benefits to young and old alike. The Channel Four series about the St Monica Trust ‘Old People’s Home for Four Year Olds’ showed the exciting things that happen when children and older residents spend sustained time together, and also made for great viewing. Hospices like… Continue reading
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
I’ve visited many hospices over the years so there’s a sense of familiarity about them, but amongst the ‘pattern recognition’ there’s always a unique feature that jumps out, grabbing the attention. No matter how much one believes rationally in the ‘main-streaming’ of palliative care into the whole healthcare system, there is still something about the individuality of hospice… Continue reading
When I first came to work in Dumfries and Galloway, a rural area in the south west of Scotland, I began to explore the local healthcare scene and was told by several people that our region had a high rate of home deaths. Some reported that everyone wishing to die at home was able to… Continue reading
I believe that the Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care has captured the core issues that face us in improving care in Scotland for people with life limiting illness and those close to them. The Scottish Government’s document avoids the pitfalls of ‘top-down’ and ‘checklist’ directives, but provides a clear vision and… Continue reading
It is a rare experience in an academic career to carry out a project with a simple research question, to publish the findings and then to find there is unprecedented interest from many quarters. That was how things worked out with our study of the imminence of death among a national cohort of hospital inpatients,… Continue reading
