Palliative care should not be a “nice to have” on a medical scheme. For people living with serious illness, it is an essential part of good healthcare — helping to manage symptoms, support patients and families, and often prevent avoidable hospital admissions. Yet access to comprehensive palliative care benefits still varies widely between schemes. This…
Of all the things people tell me affect their quality of life, fatigue and pain are the big ones.Fatigue is tricky. As doctors, I believe we often underestimate how much fatigue affects daily life. There is unfortunately nothing in a bottle that I can prescribe four times a day that will magically fix it. It…
Many people grew up with the stories of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. If you don’t know them, they are well worth reading, even as an adult. Pooh and his friends often have quirky and unexpected wisdom to share. In one such story, Winnie the Pooh goes up in a balloon, covered in mud,…
I was recently fortunate enough to pack my bags and do some travelling with my family. It was so good to plan for this and know it wouldn’t be COVID-cancelled. At the same time, I have three boys and, in the midst of planning and packing, I sometimes wonder whether the chaos that this brings…
Palliative care improves the quality of life of the patients and their loved ones, who are facing serious illness. Doctors working in the field of palliative care in South Africa have formed a new association. World wide there is growing recognition for this field of medicine, where in many places it is now recognised as…