| Yvonne Duff |
 Yvonne Duff trained in medicine. Her background was oncology in general practice so she knew something about the later stages
of terminal illness and had done a fair amount of terminal care. She first heard about the Northern Ireland Hospice, Belfast,
from one of her consultants who was on the Hospice Council. She applied for the job of Medical Director that was being advertised
in order to show interest because she was too junior at the time to be appointed to such a position. However, the post was
not filled and Yvonne was asked if she would accept the appointment of Medical Officer. After a year a Medical Director was
appointed and Yvonne worked as Assistant Medical Director for a year. In 1987, after the Medical Director relocated, Yvonne
applied for the post and was appointed in July of that year. She begins by talking about her role as Medical Officer and then
moves on to discuss her work as Medical Director. She also talks about the organisation of the medical staff; their relationship
with other professionals in the community and local hospitals; her relationship with patients and the nursing staff; and management
of the Hospice. She then discusses the main problems and challenges she has faced; the principle changes that have occurred,
particularly in palliative medicine; their relationship with the other Hospices in the Province; the geographical separation
of Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK; and her role in shaping wider attitudes towards care of the dying, particularly
among the medical profession. Yvonne ends by talking about what she feels the future holds for the Northern Ireland Hospice.
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| Interview conducted by Clare Humphreys, 31 July 2000 |
| Interview Duration: 31 minutes |
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