Painting the picture…
Earlier this week I tweeted about the wisdom of my first ever boss. Dr Kemp was a fantastic, old-school doctor and I couldn’t have wished for a more supportive or inspiring Consultant in my first FY1 job. I’m sure he is a major reason why I pursued a career as a Physician. At the end […]
Patient Centredness – does it matter and how can we do better?
Last Sunday I sat and held Grandma’s hand as she died. She had advanced metastatic stomach cancer and was 90 years old. Unbelievably throughout her whole illness this was the first time she had ever been admitted. She had always said she wanted to stay at home but in the end the intractable vomiting was […]
A good death
Having recently participated in a Radio 4 documentary entitled “How to have a good death” and during preparations for yet another lecture about the media debate surrounding end of life care I’ve been pondering the somewhat abstract concept of a good death a great deal. I was looking after a patient last week who was […]
Communication at the end of life
“I call it ‘the grim reaper talk’. By this slightly tongue in cheek phrase I refer to the vital timely episode of communication I have with a patient’s family when we as the multidisciplinary team feel someone has entered the final stages of their life in terms of hours or days.” Dr Kate Granger reflects on the difficulty of sensitive communication in today’s NHS.
Patient choice – is it what patients really want?
“Choice seems to be held up as a ‘Holy Grail’ by those designing healthcare policy.” Dr Kate Granger argues that ‘choice’ in healthcare is an alien concept to most patients and the focus should instead be on patient safety and experience to improve care for everyone.
Where did the hysteria over the Liverpool Care Pathway originate?
“It is not fancy technologies or complicated research that is going to fix the problem. It is quite simply some good quality talking and a culture and environment that allows this to happen.” Dr Kate Granger reflects on what is being neglected in the coverage of the Liverpool Care Pathway.