The Philosophy of Palliative Care: Critique and Reconstruction

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7544.800

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Paul Keeley, consultant in palliative medicine (Paul.Keeley@northglasgow.scot.nhs.uk)

Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow

It was Baroness Julia Neuberger who described the NHS as a theological institution in the pages of this journal (BMJ 1999;319: 1588-9). Randall and Downie's new book, in which they argue that end of life care has become overprofessionalised, is not so much a philosophy of palliative care as a theological tract. In treating the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine as a sacred text, the World Health Organization as a synod, and Dame Cicely Saunders (obituary BMJ2005;331: …