Death, Dying and Bereavement: Issues for Practice (11) (Policy and Practice in Health and Social Care)

Dr Watts considers the social context of death and dying in Britain today and the ways in which this influences service delivery. Care of the dying has become increasingly professionalised and medicalised and so hospitals, nursing homes and hospices are now the setting for most deaths. The provision of support for bereaved people has attracted greater attention with a large increase in the number of trained bereavement counsellors working in both charity and clinical settings. The theory and practice of palliative care, hospice development and a range of grief models that can inform bereavement care, drawing out some of the challenges for care practitioners forms the core of the book. Its underpinning themes include diversity; communication; palliative care; meanings of spirituality; and support for bereaved people. These issues are discussed against the general background of health and social care policy and with a particular focus on the review of Scottish palliative care services published in 2008 for the Auditor General of Scotland. Death, Dying and Bereavement provides an excellent overview of palliative care provision and the issues involved for students and for those health and social care workers, managers, policy makers and other practitioners who 'come into contact' with death and dying in their practice. Cover Front Matter Policy and Practice in Health and Social Care Series Title Page Copyright Contents Series Editors’ Introduction Acknowledgements Introduction CHAPTER 1 Death and Dying in Modern Britain CHAPTER 2 Palliative Care Philosophy and Practice CHAPTER 3 Hospice Development in the UK CHAPTER 4 Spirituality CHAPTER 5 Understanding Grief CHAPTER 6 Supporting Bereaved People CHAPTER 7 Issues for Policy and Practice References Index