The King's Cross fire occurred at the end of the evening rush hour, on 18 November 1987. King's Cross station is within the department's health district and we felt a responsibility to respond to the psychological aftermath. The unique features of our intervention were the degree of inter agency coordination, the use of a systematic outreach and screening programme, the collection of psychotherapy outcome measures and the development of an ongoing clinic. The work represents a sustained attempt to assess the nature and prevalence of post-traumatic reactions and the most medically and economically effective form of intervention. In this paper we describe the way our team responded to the high level of psychological distress that we found, we present some preliminary results, outline two therapeutic trials, and refer to the longterm consequences for the work of our department.

Summary Social workers are an integral part of end-of-life (EOL) care interdisciplinary services and provide comprehensive psychosocial support to dying people. However, despite the rewards, EOL care social work is wrought with challenges. There is currently limited research into the experience of EOL care social workers. Therefore, this qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS) study examines the experience of EOL care social workers as revealed in existing literature. The QIMS methodology was used to synthesize and interpret findings from four original qualitative studies to elicit an in-depth response to the research question: What is the experience of social workers who work in EOL care? Findings The theme “EOL care social work is a privilege and a struggle” emerged, with six associated contributing factors: Privilege—(1) death is sacrosanct, (2) death is an opportunity for growth and healing, and (3) the religious/spiritual element of EOL care. Struggle—(1) ongoing pain and heightened emotions, (2) conflict of values, and (3) contextual challenges. This QIMS study serves as a preliminary phase to a subsequent, larger study. Applications This QIMS study provides a foundation for further narrative research into the experience of EOL care social workers. In addition, findings from this QIMS study highlights areas for further attention to foster the well-being of EOL care social workers. Finally, findings from this QIMS study could augment relevant EOL care content in undergraduate social work education.

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