The one thing I want my students to learn about palliative care patients is they need to be treated with a sense of urgency. Life-limiting illness is time-limiting illness. Therefore patients’ time must be treated with respect, as it is precious and beyond price.

If someone only has six weeks left to live and you make them spend six hours waiting in a clinical setting, you are robbing them of valuable time. Time they could spend doing important things. Having important conversations, meeting people possibly for the last chance to say goodbye. Bringing closure to long-term relationships. Time spent with friends and family. Time they could choose to do, whatever they want to.

Please do not waste their time, as they can never have it back again. No matter how much money someone has they can never buy back time. Please treat dying people’s time with respect. It is their time, not your time. Please treat palliative care patients with a sense of urgency. Time is running out for them.