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 Thank you for coming- I Have a crime to report! Only yesterday I was sitting here as I do since I first rolled down The days merge with the seasons, But […]
Latest articles
Discrimination-driven deaths – Analysing Ontario Coroner Reports on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide
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: […]
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 […]
The Big Conversation: Future Care Planning
Dr Aoife Gleeson, Palliative Care Consultant, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABHUB), Newport, UK Aoife.Gleeson@wales.nhs.uk Dr Michael Pynn, Consultant Respiratory Physician, ABUHB, UK Dr Abigail Townsend, Resident Doctor Core Training 1, ABUHB, UK ‘The Big Conversation: Future Care Planning’ was a public event organised by Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB), held on 20th […]
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 […]