Abstract

The case presented and discussed through three short papers concerns that of a forty-five year old widow who had brought up six children largely on her own. The widow had become ill and needed hospital care. The problem of what to tell her about her own illness, what to do with the children still at home and how to plan for the future becomes the concern of her own doctor, the hospital and the social work department. The decisions and actions taken by the professionals involved and those of the family are discussed by Gregory Stone, Barrister-at-Law, Valerie Heyes, lecturer in Applied Social Studies at Croydon College and Dr Roger Higgs, the Case conference editor.