Promoting the appreciation and understanding of the life and work of Dame Cicely Saunders
Dame Cicely Saunders, the acknowledged founder of the modern approach to hospice and palliative care, was a nurse, social worker and physician.
She initially trained in the social sciences, and throughout her adult life was influenced by a deep commitment to the Christian faith.
Dame Cicely Saunders died in 2005 and in 2018 a new biography[1] was published to mark the centenary of her birth.
Global interest in the centenary and in the biography has confirmed the continuing value of understanding the life, work and legacy of Cicely Saunders.
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If you are involved in examining or celebrating the life of Dame Cicely Saunders
we would love to know more
Aims and objectives
The aim of the Cicely Saunders Society is to promote appreciation and understanding of the life and work of Dame Cicely Saunders.
Objectives
- To organise intellectual and sociable activities and events for members, including visits to sites and places of interest, symposia, seminars and lectures
- To promote activities to further identify and safeguard archival material relating to the life and work of Cicely Saunders, including the digitisation of relevant papers, and the cataloguing of publications, writings, photographs, films and sound recordings
- To consider how learning from the life and work of Cicely Saunders could apply to contemporary issues and thinking related to hospice and palliative care
- To carry out other relevant activities in pursuit of the society’s aims.
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About the society
A group of people with personal, professional or organisational interest in Cicely’s life came together in June 2019 and agreed to work together to create a Cicely Saunders Society, which will be dedicated to fostering wider understanding and appreciation of all that she did.
The group currently comprises:
- Geoff Browell, Head of Archives and Research Collections, King’s College London
- Rosemary Burch, Breast Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, Group Psychotherapist (retired) and God-daughter of Dr Saunders
- Professor David Clark, University of Glasgow (Chair)
- Andrew Goodhead, Senior Manager and Hospice Archivist, St Christopher’s
- Melanie Hodson, Information Specialist, Hospice UK
- Chris Olver, Archivist, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability
- Heather Richardson, Director of Education, Research and Policy, St Christopher’s
- Joe Wood, PhD researcher, University of Glasgow
- Professor Carlos Centeno, ATLANTES Research Programme, University of Navarra, Spain
- Dr Lisbeth Thoresen, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, University of Oslo, Norway
- Dr Augusto Caraceni, Department of Palliative Care, Pain Therapy and Rehabilitation, Instituto Nazionale dei Tumori, Milan, Italy
- Professor Philip Larkin, Lausanne University Hospital and l’Institut Universitaire de Formation et de Recherche en Soins (IUFRS), Switzerland
- Sian Best, Cicely Saunders International, Cicely Saunders Institute, London UK
This group works on a programme of events to connect with people who are interested to be part of the society and find out more about what others are doing to appreciate and celebrate Cicely’s life and work.
Anyone who shares the aim of the society is welcome to get involved.
[1] Clark, D (2018) Cicely Saunders: A life and legacy. New York: Oxford University Press, pp 336.
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Our history
Founded in 1967, St Christopher’s is now internationally recognised as the first ‘modern hospice'. This is our story.
