The 1970s and 1980s saw palliative care services starting all over Britain – hospices and NHS ‘continuing care units’, day units, home care services, hospital consultation services, ‘hospice at home’. Those were undeniably exciting times but they brought many problems and challenges. Where were the trained staff? There were no plans or policies in place… Continue reading
So, another year and another trip to India. During the last three years I have travelled to various cities of India to attend the yearly conferences of the Indian Society for the Study of Pain (ISSP) and the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC) in order to collect data for my social science doctorate, looking… Continue reading
Studying end of life care in the global context poses particular challenges due to the diversity of cultural meanings and expectations surrounding death and dying in different global settings. With culturally specific ideas of the ‘good death’ and ‘bad death’, ‘end of life’ becomes a fascinating topic for me as an anthropologist. In a palliative… Continue reading
Just before Easter 1961, Cicely Saunders sat down to send greetings to a colleague. It was someone who shared her interests in developing special facilities and approaches for the care of the dying – especially those with advanced cancer. Nothing unusual in that. She was now getting into her stride with a growing ambition… Continue reading
The Scottish Government Palliative and End of Life Stakeholders Group had its first meeting in Glasgow on the 24th of March 2015, organised by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. The purpose of this group is to contribute to and inform the ongoing development of the development of a national Strategic Framework for Action for… Continue reading
I feel moved to write having read about your work in Melanie Reid’s article in The Times (14 March). I have a deep personal interest in end of life care. My daughter Megan Young died of cancer in January 2010, aged 32. My husband died of cancer in 1990, aged 42. I have also experienced… Continue reading
Melanie Reid is an enormously respected journalist who writes a much-followed piece in The Times every Saturday. ‘Spinal column’ is her weekly set of reflections on life and the wider world – seen from the perspective of a person who is now tetrapelgic following a riding accident. Imagine then, the pleasure of reading her brilliant piece for… Continue reading
Our project on Global Interventions at the End of Life contains a strong commitment to public engagement. From the outset we are seeking to find ways to draw wider attention to the work we are doing. That means going beyond professional and academic audiences to disseminate ideas and emergent findings to other groups and communities… Continue reading
