Dr Matthew Doré – Palliative Care Consultant Northern Ireland Hospice & Belfast Trust Hon Sec of APM and Co-lead Clin ECHO I am blessed to have my parents and my wife’s parents all coming around for Christmas this year, and in the flurry of Christmas preparation it got me thinking. But, and with a big […]
Latest articles
Death of the Kessler twins raises ethical questions in Germany
by Prof Mark Taubert, Consultant in Palliative Medicine and Vice-President of the European Association for Palliative Care Alice and Ellen Kessler, the 1960s pop stars, have died by joint suicide at the age of 89. The identical twins chose to have a joint assisted death at their home in Grünwald, close to Munich, in mid […]
Autumn 2025 Newsletter from the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer
Author: Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani President of The International Research Society of the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (SCPSC) President, Higashi Sapporo Hospital, Japan Our Autumn 2025 newsletter is out and can be accessed here. Embracing the Active Role of Pathologists in Cancer Palliative Care There is much to be said for […]
Out of Hours, Out of Context: Balancing Comfort and Safety at the End of Life
My reflections on a challenging nightshift caring for a dying patient. By Dr Ailie Brennan-Davies General Hospital Medical Officer, St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne After years of planning, months of paperwork and weeks of packing – I was finally working in Australia. When I moved from London to Melbourne after foundation training, I anticipated a learning […]
The Three Laws of Suffering
Dr Matthew Doré – Palliative Care Consultant and Dr Alan McPherson Northern Ireland Hospice & Belfast Trust Hon Sec of APM and Co-lead Clin ECHO What is ‘suffering’? At its most fundamental, suffering is the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship. It is an aversive, negative experience that an individual experiences and wishes to escape. However, […]
Progression to Specialist: Launch of a new Framework for SAS doctors
Authors Co-Chairs APM SAS and Hospice Doctors Committee Katie Jerram, Specialist Grade Doctor Palliative Medicine; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Medical Director, Rowans Hospice Paul Selway, Macmillan Locum Consultant in Palliative Medicine; Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust What are SAS doctors? The term ‘SAS doctor’ encompasses Specialty Doctors, Specialist […]
Canada’s Shortcut to Death: How Assisted Dying Fails Our Most Vulnerable
Author: Dr. Ramona Coelho, Family Physician; Senior Fellow of Domestic and Health Policy at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute; Member of Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) Death Review Committee; Ontario, Canada. In this analysis, Dr Coelho offers a further review of Ontario coroner reports on euthanasia and assisted suicides Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD), Canada’s assisted […]
Art as a tool for reflection
By Dr Tiffany D’Silva Junior Clinical Fellow in Palliative Care Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth, South Wales “Am I going to die?” I was a fourth-year medical student, trying to navigate placement during COVID. My job was to take a blood sample for a patient in one of the COVID bays. I prepared myself by putting […]
Assisted dying: We need to talk about suicide
By Jonathan Blackwell1,2 Edinburgh Inflammatory Bowel Disease Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK Deanery of Molecular, Genetic & Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK I cannot forget a Sunday night from when I was 17. I cannot forget it. Waiting on the platform at Wandsworth Common, laughing, joking, waiting for the […]
Summer 2025 Newsletter from the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer
Author: Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani President of The International Research Society of the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (SCPSC) President, Higashi Sapporo Hospital, Japan Our Summer 2025 Newsletter is out, and here are some reflections. “Financial Toxicity” from the Perspective of “Human Dignity”: An Ethical Reconsideration in Cancer Care Introduction I recently […]