Author: Christiaan A. Rhodius Designation: Elderly Care Physician / Consultant in Palliative Medicine Place of work: Hospice Bardo (Hoofddorp – the Netherlands) Email address crhodius@hospicebardo.nl LinkedIn […]
Latest articles
Ninety-nine Balloons
Predictive powers are a sought after quality in palliative care – so how did Nena get it so right in 1983? by Prof. Mark Taubert, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Cardiff, UK For many Germans like me, who grew up in the Eighties, there’s been a sense of déjà vu. The international furore around suspicious […]
The Sin of Sympatigo
Dr Matthew Doré, Palliative Care Consultant Northern Ireland Hospice and Belfast Trust SYMPATIGO DEFINITION: v. To listen intently and sympathize with your colleagues when they request assistance, and then to simply, and completely, forget about it. n. The ability to sympathize with, yet ignore, requests for help.1 In my ignorance I looked up a word ‘sympatiCO’ and […]
How to perform a palliative exorcism
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 Step 1: recognition of the Palliative patient. This is likely to differ depending upon the setting of the patient. Within a surgical setting the patient may have a variety of […]
China’s living will legislation: next steps to improving patient dignity
By Daoxin Yin1, 2，Mai Wang1, 2，Luxia Zhang1, 2, 3 Affiliations 1. National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University, Beijing, China; 2. Advanced Institute of Information Technology, Peking University, Hangzhou, China 3. Renal Division, Department of Medicine, Peking University First Hospital, Peking University Institute of Nephrology, Beijing, China; Corresponding author Luxia Zhang, MD, MPH […]
Doctor AI (Artificial Intelligence)
By Dr Matthew Doré (Chair of Palliative Care Congress) and HAL (Heuristically programmed Algorithmic computer) CHATGPT – https://chat.openai.com/chat As the years passed, John began to feel a sense of disconnection from the person he had always thought he was. He had always been a hardworking and ambitious man, but as he approached the end […]
It’s not about the antibiotics
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 cough is getting worse, Breathing-once a silent unnoticed activity Punctuating the stillness between sentences Now a cacophony of rasps and gurgles Such an undertak-… a challenge (Let’s avoid some words). […]
Doctor Informed Podcast: DNACPR
BMJ Podcast by BMJ Talk Medicine In this episode of the Doctor Informed podcast, the topic of discussion is Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) decisions. The panel, which includes a patient, reflect on the importance of clinicians holding discussions about future end-of-life care as a way of informing and giving choices. The conversation […]
My Wishes – Newham Council Launch
NEWS Overview At 9am on Tuesday 17th January 2023 Newham Council in the UK released a special future care, digital legacy and end of life planning platform for Newham residents. It is free to use and includes real-time support from charitable organisations working within the borough. MyWishes have produced a bespoke, localised version to suit local needs […]
Medical Death Certification. Do we need medical training before medical examiners?
By Dr Pablo Millares Martin. GP Senior Partner. Whitehall Surgery, Wortley Ring Rd. Leeds, UK. E-mail: Pablo.martin@nhs.net Introduction The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD) is a very important legal document with dual functionality: to provide the information required for the registration of a death, but also to facilitate statistical comparisons of mortality causes, […]