Four months ago our organisation, the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) created a space on the web where anyone could post a brief message of remembrance about dead loved ones who remain important to them. Little by little, day by day, non-virally, that space has grown into a powerful reminder of the diversity and… Continue reading
I have been on the phone for the past hour to a journalist writing an article on Death Cafés and the movement to get people talking about death. Is this, she asked, because death in our society is repressed? Is there a taboo against talking about it? “No,” I answered, “if we need to talk… Continue reading
Hailing from a Dylan Thomas-like diminutive, unassuming, “ugly, lovely” former coal mining village in South Wales, UK – whose inhabitants routinely greet friends and strangers alike with a warm, embracing “Morning!” couched in a melodious Welsh lilt – I could be more readily forgiven for small-town parochialism than any meaningful participation in a global dialogue.… Continue reading
This summer the Scottish campaign, Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, which works to make Scotland a place where there is more openness about death, dying and bereavement, has partnered with the world renowened Edinburgh Fringe Festival to launch its own programe of shows – Death on the Fringe. What better place to encourage debate… Continue reading
Read this great account from a student who spent time this summer in the Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kerala. Huge thanks to Athira Unni for allowing us to post this piece from her own blog, which can be found at: http://chocolateandink.wordpress.com/2014/08/05/monsoon-ipm-discovering-palliative-care-2/ And thanks to Suresh Kumar for making the introduction. This summer I met… Continue reading
Ten million people in the UK are over the age of 65 and the need for end of life care is growing. The pressures on healthcare services, the caring profession and family carers are set to rise in coming years. But for many people in the UK, death and how we die are difficult… Continue reading
In a briefing note published in 2009, the World Health Organization estimated ‘that 5 billion people… have no or insufficient access to treatment for moderate to severe pain’ . Much of the dialogue related to this lack of access has focused on the availability of the opioid drug morphine, but despite several high profile… Continue reading
Terminal illness, dying and death are often difficult words to hear and they can fill a lot of people with fear. Yet mortality is an inescapable part of life. So, why is it that so many of us are afraid to talk about it? This month Marie Curie has published a report, Difficult conversations with… Continue reading
