Opening up the conversation on end of life care
This week (10 - 16 May) marks Dying Matters Awareness Week. The week aims to prompt conversations around death, dying and bereavement, and to challenge the stigma that surrounds these topics.
This year, the theme of Dying Matters Awareness Week is end of life care and the importance of being #InAGoodPlace to die.
When it comes to death and bereavement, this last year has been a year like never before, with loss at the forefront of everyone’s minds. According to research from the Dying Matters organisation, most people in the UK do not have an end of life care plan in place because they are unaware of what to do, and unsure of how to talk about it.
The research revealed that just 13% of adults say they've let a close friend or family member know where they want to be when they die, and just three in ten people know how to make arrangements to ensure they die in the place they would wish to do so.
In a bid to combat some of the stigma surrounding these conversations, our Head of Chaplaincy, Yunus Dudhwala, has featured in a short film with local residents, urging people to be braver when talking about death. In particular, Yunus explains that many believe end of life care is not something that warrants thinking about until a person is older or already having end of life treatment.
One of the things the pandemic showed us it that these conversations aren’t something for just older people to have. Covid-19 impacted and took the lives of young and old alike. End of life care is something everyone should all be having open conversations about, so that the right plans are in place when the time comes. These are difficult conversations to have – there’s no denying. But often, the difficult conversations are the ones that are most important to have.
Planning for end of life care
To mark Dying Matters week 2021, our #TeamBartsHealth chaplaincy members and local faith leaders talk about the differing care needs at the end of life within Christianity, Judaism, Sikhism and Islam.
This #DyingMattersWeek2021 why not get involved by having conversations with your loved ones on what being in a #InAGoodPlace to die means to you and to them?
Find out more about Dying Matters Week at Barts Health.