Cicely Saunders
b 1918, founder of St Christopher's Hospice, south London



St Christopher's Hospice, south London, 17/02/95		 Cicely Saunders's work means that many of the terminally ill can die with dignity. Her strong feelings that much more had to be done in ensuring humane care for the dying emerged after she had trained as a nurse and a hospital social worker. Once she had also qualified in medicine she could then realise her ideals and in 1967 opened the first hospice, St Christopher's, in south London. Since then the hospice movement has spread widely, nationally and internationally, and Cicely Saunders has continued to inspire, teach, and conduct research.

Links to the BMJ archive

Article: A personal therapeutic journey

Full obituary will be published Friday, 15 July