R. S. Downie – författare

Health care professionals are becoming increasingly aware of the moral dilemmas fundamental to their work. Healthy Respect introduces and analyses the moral concepts and values of health care for all those working in the medical profession, in order that they may examine their own moral and value judgements and appreciate how they might be influenced by them at work. The topics covered include: consent, confidentiality, giving or withholding information, the economics of healthcare, terminal care, resuscitation, testing of drugs Written in a clear, easily accessible style, this book presents many questions, cases and exercises throughout which will stimulate thought and discussion in the reader making it highly suited to all those actively engaged in health care.

The health promotion movement has gained ever more momentum in the 1990s, at international, national, and local levels. This updated and revised edition of a successful textbook reflects developments in philosophy, policy, planning, and practice since the turn of the decade. It contains new material, such as an account of who is involved in health promotion, more attention to the role of the mass media, and an expansion of the account of the role of the WHO. A new health promotion framework is built up on to the original one and there is a new chapter considering objections to health promotion.

The health promotion movement has gained ever more momentum in the 1990s, at international, national, and local levels. his updated and revised edition of a successful textbook reflects developments in philosophy, policy, planning, and practice since the turn of the decade. It contains new material, such as an account of who is involved in health promotion, more attention to the role of the mass media, and an expansion of the account of the role of the WHO. A new health promotion framework is built up on to the original one and there is a new chapter considering objections to health promotion.

Medicine and the arts have in common a concern for all aspects of people's lives. This delightful anthology celebrates the many ways in which they interact. Robin Downie has mixed together a rich concoction of poems, stories, prose extracts, music, paintings, and drawings which illustrate the fundamental issues of birth, life, and death.From reviews of the hardback edition The best presents are often those you want to buy for yourself and part with only grudgingly. The Healing Arts falls headlong into this class. New Scientist This book is really much better than any anthology has a right to be... remarkably handsome: large format, good paper, spacious layouts, colour plates, and photographs... but the most striking aspect is the quality and variety of the selected items, and the way in which they flow and are mutually reinforcing.' Journal of the Royal College of Physicians of London ' a splendid anthology ... Downie's anthology is interesting, varied ... and fun to dip into.' The Lancet Here's some cultural diversion for anyone on the mend from the surgeon's knife or fighting illness, or indeed for the hypochondriac. Read Betjeman on nurses, Larkin on ambulances, and C S Lewis on grief. And more in the same vein.' Focus ... a delightful collection of poetry, essay, and musical score, punctuated by carefully selected drawings and paintings. It is undoubtedly a delightful gift for almost anyone in medicine, and a goodly number outside the profession. British Journal of Anaesthesia He has compiled a beautiful and inspiring collection of poems, drawings, paintings, cartoons, music and excerpts from books and journals to give pleasure, to heal and inform, and to "stretch the imagination, deepen the sympathy and enrich perspectives" ... It superbly fulfills Downie's goal of bringing pleasure, stretching the imagination, and deepening sympathy. I strongly recommend it to those of you who value the arts and have some association with the medical profession. The Medical Humanities Review This book is a gem which will have wide appeal.... It breaks new ground in using art, prose and poetry to explore interactions between medicine and the arts. Journal of Medical Ethics

The idea of a philosophy of palliative care emerged with Cicely Saunders' vision for 'a good death', and was developed further with the WHO definition of palliative care. It is now being applied not only to cancer patients, but to all patients in end of life situations. As this 'palliative care approach' advances, it is important to pause and comment on its effectiveness. It is a philosophy of patient care, and is therefore open to critique and evaluation.Using the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, 3rd edition as their basic reference, Randall and Downie present their argument that the palliative care approach has become too busy and over-professionalised, and that it therefore has significant weaknesses. They examine the framework of the specialty - quality of life, autonomy, dignity, patient-centredness, and the priority assigned to relatives in the remit of care - and the moral problems associated with implementing such a philosophy. The resource implications of various health care policies are also discussed in relation to the WHO definition.Whilst the authors defend the achievements of palliative care and those who work in the profession, they present suggestions for an alternative philosophy. Their philosophy prompts many ethical and philosophical questions about the future of palliative care.