Obituary: Frances Sheldon ; Pioneer in the Specialist Care of the Dying and Bereaved

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FRANCES SHELDON was a pioneer in the field of psychosocial palliative care. Her vision and leadership helped to define and develop the role of the social worker in hospice and specialist palliative care, providing psychological and practical support to the dying and bereaved.

Yet her contribution to this field came about almost by accident. After attending St Albans High School and taking a degree in History at Newnham College, Cambridge, she studied Social Administration at the London School of Economics and worked as a social worker, including posts as a probation officer and childcare officer. Her appointment in 1977 as the first (part- time) social worker at …