Complementary medicine for patients with cancer
Anne Clover and Sosie Kassab
pp 73-76
Increasing numbers of patients facing the challenge of malignant disease are seeking help from various forms of complementary medicine. At the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital (RLHH) we have seen the number of patients attending for the first time on account of malignancy increase from 50 in 1984 to 350 in 1995.
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Conversion formula for transdermal fentanyl
Liyakat Hawa
pp 77-77
Transdermal fentanyl has been available in Britain since 1994 (marketed as Durogesic™ by Janssen-Cilag Ltd), although it has been successfully used as an analgesic agent for over 30 years. It is a useful addition to the range of strong opioids available for treating cancer pain and is used at step three of the World Health Organisation (WHO) analgesic ladder.
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The Calicut Declaration
Suresh Kumar
pp 78-78
There is a universal and permanent need for all healthcare professionals to be cognisant of the ethical basis of clinical practice.
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The specialist palliative care of prisoners
David Oliver and Leonard Cook
pp 79-80
The care of prisoners who are dying has been an area of controversy in the UK, particularly following the report of the young man dying within a hospice who remained shackled until near to death.
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Limitations and variations in mobile palliative care teams
Gilbert Desfosses
pp 81-85
Fixed units with ‘hospital’ beds provided the original framework for palliative care and remain the norm. The evolution of the palliative care system in France has been characterised by a rapid increase in the number of mobile teams, coupled by limited growth of fixed units. This new method of palliative care, however, poses new questions.
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Paediatric palliative care – a personal perspective
Tomasz Dangel
pp 86-91
Medical treatment decisions for children with incurable diseases are very difficult. Healthcare professionals face the following questions: Have all possibilities of curative treatment been exhausted? Are life-prolonging methods appropriate? Is the child to be informed about the poor prognosis? Is further treatment agreeable to the child? Who is to care for the child in the terminal phase? Where is the child to die?
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Social representations of pain
Pierre Moulin
pp 92-96
In France, pain is not only seen as a problem for the individual, but also, increasingly, as a topic for public debate confirming society’s growing preoccupation with the subject.
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Promoting palliative care in Greece
Kyriaki Mystakidou, Eleni Tsilika, Efi Parpa, Lambros Vlahos and Elizabeth Patiraki
pp 98-98
In response to the need for improved palliative care, management has taken many different forms throughout the world. Encouraging efforts have been made in some hospitals in Greece.
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