Spirituality in Hospice Care: How Staff and Volunteers Can Support the Dying and Their Families

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1785921029 ISBN 13: 9781785921025

Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017

Publishing on the 50th anniversary of the opening of St Christopher's Hospice - widely thought of to be the first modern hospice, combining pain and symptom management with education and training - this edited collection discusses what motivates professionals and volunteers to provide spiritual care. This book shows how the world of hospice care is moving on from Cicely Saunder's, founder of St Christopher's Hospice, legacy to providing spiritual care in a more integrated manner. With entries from doctors, nurses and CEOs among others, this book informs good practice for professionals and volunteers providing spiritual care for patients and their families. It looks at how, for many of these professionals, spirituality does not have to be grounded in organised religion, but stems from understanding and providing for our human needs.

Review:

This book opens up the idea of what 'spiritual' means in wholly original ways, finding it in the lived human experience of dying people and those who accompany them. Honest, open and moving, it takes the questions way beyond the hospice. Valuable reading for anyone involved in providing - or receiving - healthcare. Author: Jessica Rose, writer and psychotherapist

This new look at spiritual care demonstrates the importance of a multi-professional approach. It seeks to re-integrate spirituality with other aspects of care by professional care-givers and volunteers recognising and responding to spiritual needs through developing a compassionate and attentive relationship with the patient and family. Practical examples help clarify the how and why of spiritual care and its relevance for carers. Author: Prebendary Dr Peter Speck, Hon Senior Lecturer (Palliative Care), Cicely Saunders Institute, King’s College London

This book brings together a compelling blend of personal reflection, practical experience, and conceptual exploration of a profoundly important area. Its contributors are often movingly and refreshingly honest, and their collected breadth of experience comes together into a whole that will be deeply thought-provoking for practitioners and non-specialists alike. Author: Bishop Christopher, Portsmouth Diocese

From the Author:

Andrew Goodhead works as the Spiritual Care Lead for St Christopher's Hospice in London. Nigel Hartley works as the Chief Executive Officer for Earl Mountbatten Hospice, located on the Isle of Wight.