Use BBC.com or the new BBC App to listen to BBC podcasts, Radio 4 and the World Service outside the UK.

Find out how to listen to other BBC stations

Episode details

Radio 4,4 mins

SeriesSeries 1

Why doesn’t morphine hasten death in the dying?

We Need to Talk About Death

Available for over a year

Dr Jonathan Martin reveals to Joan Bakewell why morphine doesn’t hasten death and banishes other common myths surrounding the drug’s use in the dying. Pharmacist Janet Trundle explains how the prescribing of morphine is hindered by Harold Shipman’s grim legacy. Image: Elderly patient being helped by a health carer. Credit: BBC

Programme Website
More episodes