Most people with far-advanced illness wish to be cared for at home for as long as possible. The challenge of providing good palliative care at home is therefore of major importance for family doctors, nurses and all those committed to maintaining the highest possible quality of life for the dying person. As modern specialist palliative care has raised both standards of care and also public expectations of family doctors and community nurses, this book helps to place specialist care in context. As palliative care is a major responsibility for teams providing palliative care at home, this book...

This book provides the best information available on the ways priorities are currently set for health care around the world. It describes the methods now used in the six countries leading the process, and contrasts the differences between them. It shows how, except in the UK, frameworks have now been developed to set priorities. Making Choices for Health Care sets forth the key issues that need to be tackled in the years ahead. Descriptions of the leading trends are accompanied by suggestions to resolve outstanding difficulties. Topics include: the need for national research and development...

The majority of doctors and nurses involved in specialist palliative care reject the legalisation of physician assisted suicide (PAS). This book explores the reasons why the healthcare professionals who have the most experience of caring for dying patients should object to a change in the law. Debate about euthanasia and PAS often arises in response to a well publicised tragic case of unrelieved suffering. Such heart rending stories do not reflect the fact that the majority of people dying have a dignified death. There is a marked disparity between medical intuitions and the philosophers'...