By Dr Julian Abel, Director, Compassionate Communities UK “Finally, one day the aged father of a Prairie du Sac woman will die. And next-door neighbours will not drop by because they don’t want to interrupt the bereavement counsellor. The woman’s kin will stay home because they will have learned that only the bereavement counsellor knows […]
Latest articles
The Digital Legacy Conference 2021 ‘PalliCovid & Exploring New Dimensions’
by James Norris, Digital Legacy Association, MyWishes & Michael Sobell Hospice The Digital Legacy Conference, Tues 5th October, 2021 (from 4pm British Summer Time until 10PM) The importance and relevance of our digital lives and possessions is increasing. Digital photos and videos are often saved behind password or finger-print protected devices The […]
“Talking Through a Fog”: The Impact of Patulous Eustachian Tube on Patients with Advanced Cancer
By Dr Holly McGuigan (Specialty Doctor in Palliative Medicine, Strathcarron Hospice) and Dr Ruth Isherwood (Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Cornhill Macmillan Centre, Perth) Twitter: @cloudy_lemonade “I’m sorry, what?” “Patulous Eustachian Tube”, came the reply from my prospective Masters supervisor. “I’m sorry but I have no idea what you’re talking about…” And so began an […]
A conversation about dying – Green Man Festival 2021
News and Events “What happens when you die” event at Green Man Festival 2021. The Brecon Beacons mountains in Wales were awash with live music, entertainment, discussions and comedy events on the weekend of 21st August 2021. The Green Man Festival is Wales’ largest art festival, and it returned with a bang after being cancelled […]
Learn from my mistakes! What I learned when I spoke at a predatory conference
By Colleen Davis, Executive Coach, Registered Nurse, speaker, mother and life-long learner who helps inspire people to live their authentic life, City of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. LinkedIn Account Like many people these days, I receive a lot of emails from predatory journals or conference organizers. In 2018, I was approached, as an executive coach, […]
Creative Distress
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust and Woking and Sam Beare hospice. Twitter: @JoeHawk75825077 We have a lifetime to prepare for our dying and yet it seems that for most of us we still arrive ill-prepared. As humanity has evolved we have taken advantage of […]
An evaluation of the needs of patients in the last days of life
By Dr Anja Berglund, Internal Medicine Trainee at University Hospitals Sussex As I’m sitting down to write this, we are exactly one week from so-called “Black Wednesday” – a new cohort of Foundation Year 1 doctors starting on the wards. As always, I’m reminded of my own experiences in those first few months. Our […]
Should we Prescribe Dogs?
By Dr Matthew Doré, palliative care consultant at Northern Ireland Hospice & Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Sometimes I wonder if we limit our prescriptions to ‘medications’ rather than ‘treatments’ and that prevents a more creative approach to being a doctor. Compassionate communities (1) is prescribing ‘compassion’ with amazing success and we were (pre covid) […]
Homecoming
By Heather Trickey Hey! Sit down! Eat! Let’s outrun all claims of sleep to tell our stranger stories. Pour wine. Break bread. Tell me about your heart. Take mine. After all, I’ve almost known you all this time. You, who were abroad on adventure, encompassing your part, taking in, absorbing your own commonwealth […]
Schrodinger’s Chimney; the nature of control
By Dr Joseph Hawkins, Consultant in Palliative Medicine Woking and Sam Beare Hospice, Honorary consultant Ashford and St Peter’s hospital Foundation Trust. Email: Joseph.hawkins@nhs.net When talking with a neighbour she remarked that her chimney was tilting; I looked and so it was. When I looked back at her she smiled and shrugged: ‘There are worse […]