THE WHEATLFIELDS EXPERIENCE Available to Purchase

As social and nutritional conditions have improved over the last century, there has been a dramatic improvement in health. Communicable diseases have almost been eradicated and mortality rates in childhood have dropped. Consequently, people are now living longer and dying has become an experience of the elderly and often as a result of degenerative diseases such as cancer. The hospice movement was set up to care for patients, such as those with cancer, who could not realistically expect to be cured, and whose needs were primarly for comfort and relief for the remaining period of life. Wheatfields is a hospice in Leeds at which great care is taken over the patients' diets, as Linda Auty, BSc, SRD, senior lecturer at the Department of Dietetics, Leeds Polytechnic, Maire O'Donnell, SRN, ONC matron at Wheatfields and Jackie Evans, SRN, RCNT assistant matron explain.