Home hospice care in Britain and the United States

The British are long established and experienced in hospice care and indeed most clients who die within a hospice program in Britain do so comfortably, peacefully, with dignity and control and a sense of personal worth. American hospice programs have been modeled after those of the British and have achieved a level of sophistication in the care of the dying. The comparison presented here is not intended to place value judgments upon either country's methods but simply to present what the methods are. Perhaps Rev. Tom Scott, Administrator of Strathcarron Hospice in Denny, Scotland, summarizes the meaning of the hospice movement and our role as health care professionals in it when states, "Perhaps we shall learn that there is no perception for a good death--only the dignity which allows the dying person to mark the route and to choose the pace--and give us the privilege of enabling them to take that final step in acceptance and peace" (1985).