A Bit of Heaven for the Few?: An oral history of the modern hospice movement in Britain and Ireland
Clark D, Small N, Wright M, Winslow M, Hughes N
Observatory Publications - (2005)ISBN: 0954419200
Pages: 240
Price per book: £15.00
Delivery charges: UK - £3.00 Europe - £4.50 Rest of World - £8.00
In the final third of the twentieth century, care of the dying in the United Kingdom was transformed by the work of a new wave of modern hospices. Building on the foundations of earlier homes for the dying, they developed new approaches to patient care and the organisation of services, as well as to research, education and training for staff. After the opening of St Christopher’s Hospice in South London in 1967, others quickly followed, both as independent charities and as services within the National Health Service.
The influence of the hospice movement came to be something wider than service delivery alone, representing an important social movement within society that promoted better awareness of end of life care and a positive approach to the care of those facing death. Drawing on an extensive archive of interviews with hospice professionals and volunteers from settings across the United Kingdom, this book provides the first detailed oral history of this remarkable development.
As its challenging title suggests, A Bit of Heaven for the Few? explores how hospice ideas were quickly taken up in many places, how provision came to be expanded to numerous areas, and the challenges that still remain if all in need are to receive the care they require. Written in a clear, accessible style and richly illustrated by the oral testimony of those involved, as well as with photographs from the period, this book makes essential reading for anyone with an interest in hospice and end of life care.
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