The Schindler Prize

Terri Schiavo

Robert and Mary Schindler, the parents of Terry Schiavo, fought for her life because they believed passionately in its infinite value. They stirred our memories of "Schindler's list" in their unshakeable respect for human life. The Schindler Prize Trust, a group who prefer care to killing, is offering an annual prize of £500 to honour their name. This will be awarded to a clinician or nurse who provides the best account in recognition of a colleague, who in their opinion, has engaged in a battle to save a life that has been dismissed as valueless. The account should describe a situation where a practitioner attempted to save the life of a patient who was:

  • unable to speak for him or herself
  • denied food and fluids
  • suffering from dangerous neglect

Multidisciplinary members of the Schindler Prize Trust will judge the best narrative account, in line with the above criteria. What is of importance is that whether the attempt was or was not successful, it was sustained and revealed the practitioner's beliefs in the value of human life and the duty of all practitioners - to do no harm. The prize-winning account will be anonymised before publication, in consultation with the prize winner.