Addressing every aspect of pain
By listening carefully to patients' stories of illness, disease and suffering, Saunders evolved the concept of 'total pain'. This view of pain moved beyond the physical to encompass social, emotional and even spiritual aspects of suffering.
She linked this to a hard-headed approach to pain management in which her message was simple: constant pain needs constant control. Analgesics were to be given regularly to prevent pain, rather than alleviate it; and they should be used progressively, from mild, to moderate, to strong.
St Christopher's Hospice
When Cicely Saunders founded St Christopher's Hospice in South London in 1967, it quickly became a source of inspiration to others. As the first 'modern' hospice, it sought to combine three key principles - excellent clinical care, education and research - making it significantly different from earlier homes for the dying. It also sought to establish itself as a centre of excellence in a new field of care.
St Christopher's Hospice's success was phenomenal. It soon became the stimulus for an expansive phase of hospice development in Britain and around the world.
Care beyond hospices
From the outset, ideas developed at St Christopher's were applied differently in other settings. Within a decade it was accepted that the principles of hospice care could be practised in many settings; not just in specialist inpatient units, but also in home care and day care services. Hospital units and support teams were established that brought the new thinking about dying into the heartland of acute medicine.
More hospice history
Read about other chapters in hospice history including:
