Which health research projects involving humans are ethically justified, safe and legal? Who decides whether they should get the green light to proceed? In one case study, researchers at the Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge, found that eighty nine different people were involved in approving a single small scale health research study for ethics […]
Appropriateness of prescriptions made in advance for patients nearing the end of life remains unknown
The prescription and dispensing of injectable medications to provide end of life symptom relief for patients approaching the end of their lives in the community, in advance of clinical need, is established practice in the UK and other countries. But a new review of the research literature reveals that this widespread practice is based on […]
‘Please Make Comfortable’: prescribing and communicating opioids in the wake of Gosport
The latest crisis concerning UK end-of-life care arose in June 2018, with the publication of the Jones inquiry into hundreds of premature deaths at Gosport War Memorial Hospital in the 1990s. The inquiry concluded that misuse of diamorphine and syringe drivers, often following the clinical instruction ‘please make comfortable’, led to the excess deaths: a […]
‘I thought it was just me’: mutual benefit from public involvement in research
Blog by Dr Anna Spathis, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Associate Specialty Director in Palliative Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine and Dr Stephen Barclay, University Senior Lecturer in Palliative Care, Primary Care Unit, University of Cambridge. Teenage and young adults with cancer have inspired and steered a novel research study to develop a treatment […]