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. New – Listen to this post on Spotify, read by the author: Introduction: As a family physician in Ontario, Canada, my practice largely serves marginalised groups: […]
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My Tower. Your heart.
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 The Wood of simple Words was first, the construction began Strong and supple built upon Simplicity- Mother and Father It felt strong and formed so much That first timber warped Too […]
You should read the new VitalTalk book, and here’s why.
There has perhaps never been greater awareness of the importance of serious illness communication, nor evidence to support its critical role in achieving effective clinical care. Despite this, trainees and practicing clinicians continue to report feeling underprepared for difficult conversations. Reassuringly, a new guidebook is poised to make talking with seriously ill patients more approachable […]
The Palliative Times. Special education issue
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 Welcome back readers. In this special issue of the Palliative Times we seek to bring snippets of wisdom from our patients, clinicians and others. To start us off we have a […]
Autumn Newsletter of the International Research Society Sapporo, Japan
by Dr. Kunihiko Ishitani President of The International Research Society of the SCPSC and President, Higashi Sapporo Hospital Announcement regarding the 5th Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer Toward a New Era in Palliative Care in Cancer The Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer (SCPSC), regarded as the […]
Chatbots in Palliative Care-A New Frontier in Holistic care?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming healthcare delivery rapidly through its application in the industry. Artificial Intelligence chatbots (AI chatbots) utilize Natural Language Processing (NLP) and communicate in a natural human-like way. These AI tools have transformed human and computer interaction to the next level. Moreover, there is potential for further evolution of this technology. AI […]
The nature of joy
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 A smile shared with a stranger A secret admiration Quietly shared Loneliness banished Helliconian dreams Remembered on waking A problem solved Without effort Shared memories Of travels Where the destination […]
Does palliative care have a problem with…“the c-word”?
By Dr. John MacArtney This is an article about the new c-word… COVID. Let me reassure you that if you find “COVID talk” difficult and is something you’d rather ignore, you are not on your own. Take home messages: Hospice staff are still struggling with the emotional implications of working through the emergency period […]
The Fabian Strategy of the NHS
Dr Matthew Doré (exploring Rome) Palliative Care consultant in Northern Ireland and Hon Secretary of the APM Instead of meeting Hannibal’s forces head-on in a pitched battle, Quintus Fabius Maximus the Roman general opted for a strategy of delay. Fabius won the battle using a deliberate strategy of procrastinating, avoiding and promising to meet and […]
The Cinderella Phenomenon
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Clinical lead for End of Life Care, Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 Every Friday, between 5 pm and 6 pm large numbers of patients will be declared dying. This phenomenon- known as the the ‘Cinderella Effect’, is common in hospitals and demonstrates how […]