SPPC Blog

An international exercise in compassion

Posted by Site administrator on January 15 2014 at 13:29

Some people may think that I, and other ‘pioneers’ of hospice / palliative care, were alive with the dinosaurs.

An old man's anecdote

Posted by Site administrator on October 25 2013 at 09:18

Forgive me if you have heard my story before. Old men tend to be anecdotal.

I'm sorry to moan but...

Posted by Site administrator on September 20 2013 at 10:00

I have been visiting terminally ill friends in Edinburgh though I suspect I might have had the same experience elsewhere. Two were in major NHS units, and one in a well-known hospice. Let me say at once that I have no doubt they have been thoroughly investigated, have been on the best therapeutic regimens, have had skilled care from nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers. What distressed me where the so-called “smaller things”. My experiences were those of a visitor (family or friend) and never once did I tell anyone that I was a retired doctor.

Lessons from Africa

Posted by Site administrator on August 19 2013 at 16:03

Professor Scott Murray, GP and St Columba’s Chair of Primary Palliative Care at the University of Edinburgh, shares some of his experiences from a recent trip to East Africa:

Reflections of a Hospice Chaplain

Posted by Site administrator on June 24 2013 at 12:35

Reverend Stuart Coates recently retired as Chaplain of Strathcarron Hospice. One of the 'founding fathers' of the SPPC, he has been an active and valued member of SPPC groups and the wider palliative care community throughout his career. Though retired from the Hospice, he continues his role as Chair of the Forth Valley Spiritual Care Committee and his interest in the Cross Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palliative Care.