New PhD scholarship on ‘total pain’ in palliative care – apply now

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards Leave a comment

A new fully-funded PhD scholarship on the philosophical underpinnings of palliative care is now open for applications. The deadline for applications is 13th May 2018. The PhD candidate will join the Glasgow End of Life Studies group, which works to develop and promote interdisciplinary approaches to end of life issues. This PhD will provide a… Continue reading

College students engage in death talk over a cuppa

Published on: Author: Naomi Richards 1 Comment
Brian Hall and Solveiga Zibaite

Young people are not the usual attendees at Death Cafés. Perhaps this is because their youth makes death seem a remote prospect. Or because they are too busy trying to get a foothold in our precarious, zero-hours contract economy to spend too much time contemplating the hereafter. Instead of pondering young people’s absence at such… Continue reading

‘Passive euthanasia’ is legal in India: what difference does it make?

Published on: Author: Hamilton Inbadas 1 Comment

On 9 March 2018, in a landmark verdict, the Supreme Court of India ruled that “‘passive euthanasia’ is lawful and legally permissible in this country”. What is the significance of this judgement, what are its implications for end of life care in India and what will the general public understand about this constitutional development? The key… Continue reading

Thinking critically about the Liverpool Care Pathway

Published on: Author: David Clark Leave a comment

It is almost 20 years since ideas about an integrated pathway for the care of the dying were formulated by John Ellershaw and his colleagues in Liverpool. When I first heard the originator speak about it at a lunchtime seminar in Sheffield in November 2001, I recall a two-fold reaction. On the one hand it… Continue reading

An invitation to an end of life community event in Dumfries, Scotland

Published on: Author: Marian Krawczyk Leave a comment
Marian Krawczyk and Margaret Dobie

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

Can palliative care improve society? Cicely Saunders and the moral order of dying

Published on: Author: David Clark Leave a comment

In 1961 Cicely Saunders, in a short article written for a general audience, observed:  ‘A society which shuns the dying must have an incomplete philosophy’ [1]. The remark is loaded with import. In her observation, ‘the dying’, seem to constitute a known social category. Not only neglected, they are persistently avoided, ignored, or rejected through… Continue reading

A new world map of palliative care development

Published on: Author: Nicole Baur Leave a comment

  For those who seek to advocate for the development of palliative care as an aspect of Universal Health Coverage, having access to good global data is important. There is much interest in trying to understand how and to what extent palliative care is developing in each of the countries of the world. The World… Continue reading