This article was written by Naomi Richards in collaboration with Aileen Morton, Senior Policy & Advocacy Officer for Hospice UK in Scotland. In early 2024, as the hospice sector in Scotland grappled with the prospect of another parliamentary vote on whether or not to legalise assisted dying, I was invited by Hospice UK to facilitate… Continue reading
‘Total Pain’ as the Pain of a Lifetime This post looks at Cicely Saunders’ influential term ‘total pain’ in terms of endings and limits. ‘Total pain’ articulates how pain for someone whose life is ending is a whole overwhelming experience which combines physical, psychological, social and spiritual elements. My own PhD project looks at how… Continue reading
Reflections of a Hospice CEO on the emerging COVID-19 crisis Toiling up the knoll on brittle ground frost we clambered over a creaking stile to be rewarded by the sun glistening on Windermere set against a backdrop of distant snowclad fells. Our short walk had brought a welcome opportunity to reflect during our annual board… Continue reading
Coronavirus is changing the way we live in a way that is repeatedly said to be unprecedented. We say we are living through strange times, extraordinary times, difficult times. For some of us lucky enough to be able to work from home time might be stretching out in lockdown into an endless series of Thursday… Continue reading
By Stephen Greenhalgh For the last 13 years I have been working as the Chief Executive of St Catherine’s Hospice in Lancashire. Having had a varied career prior to that in the Army, Church of England, RAF, NHS and Local Government the hospice role came as an unexpected turn in the road and yet, from… Continue reading
David Clark, University of Glasgow For the first time ever, one of Britain’s 200 independent hospices has closed its doors. St Clare’s in Jarrow near Newcastle had been serving its community in the north east of England for 30 years, raising most of its annual costs of £2.2m from local charitable giving. But after a… Continue reading
In summer 2018 I spotted a call from the Economic and Social Research Council seeking proposals to build collaboration between researchers in Japan and the United Kingdom, with no constraints on the subject matter. It looked an interesting opportunity. I quickly reached out to my Japanese colleague the philosopher Hirobumi Takenouchi and within a few… Continue reading
Cicely Saunders was a great writer of letters. Indefatigable in her correspondence, she was equally happy dashing off the briefest of newsy notes, or setting out several pages of detailed text, full of insight and reflection. My acquaintance with her letters, built up over many years, was invaluable to me as I was writing her… Continue reading
