In 1975 at the MacRobert Centre in Stirling, I first heard the late Dame Cicely Saunders speak about the nature of hospice care. Amongst the arguments she used was that the humanity of a society can be measured by the way it responds to the needs of the most vulnerable, those whose contribution to society can no longer be measured in cash value terms. By which she meant that the care of the dying human person, and the support and accompaniment of their family should be a priority in any humane society. She spoke as a nurse, a former social worker, a doctor, a Christian and a determined and formidable advocate for dedicated, highly skilled, fully resourced provision for the dying as a right
Ever since, I've been a passionate supporter and strong believer in the role of the hospice in modern health care. A view which, whether or not shared by successive Governments, still seems to fall short of outright approval of adequate funding. And yes - there are hard budget decisions, health care priorities, variations in local provision, a growing gulf between resources and an increasingly elderly and resource expensive population. But for all the dedication, compassion, responsibility and skilled care of nurses in our general hospitals, it isn't possible within that widely demanding context to provide the specialist care and patient specific treatment in palliative medicine and family support, that is possible in the purpose built and resourced hospice.
The very fact we are able to discuss hospice care at all owes much to the vision, determination, courage, and refusal to take no for an answer that was one of Cicely Saunders great spiritual gifts. I've just bought the volume of her letters and will be reading this as part of my Lenten reflections. Not because they are "lenten material" (whatever that might be anyway!), but because she is one of those remarkable Christian women whose life's work was carried out against a strong tide of resistance. Medicine is a profession that during the second half of the 20th Century only slowly, and with some reluctance, welcomed the contribution of women in the higher levels of professional recognition and vocational influence. In my current interest in biography as theology, she is an example both of spiritual journeying and vocational constancy - her practice of the Gospel was embodied in her advocacy for the right of the dying to die with dignity and as much of their humanity intact as modern skill and knowledge allows. As she said often to patients who came under her care, "You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life." That is not a specifically Christian principle, but it was backed by specifically Christian ethical and theological values.
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