PATCH encourages communities to get talking as part of Dying Matters Awareness Week
PATCH is this week supporting Dying Matters Awareness Week (2-6 May), as part of a national campaign to open up conversations around death and dying, how and where we die, and what care and support we have in place.
The Covid-19 pandemic had meant many more people have experienced to loss of a loved one, many at home and without the right emotional and practical support they need. Never before has opening up conversations about long term illness, death and talking to friends, relatives and loved ones in advance been so important.
Death can be so hard to talk about, but it always makes such a difference to patients and families if it can be done. It can alleviate fear, worry and stress, and this is so important not just between families, but also with medical and healthcare staff. We encourage talking and listening as much as possible and support this with the specific training programmes we are funding.
It is so important to talk to friends, relatives and loved ones about your and their wishes for end of life care, and Dying Matters Awareness Week is a great way for communities across the UK to get the conversation started.
We know that right now people are dying without the emotional and practical support they need. The pandemic has seen many more people dying at home, and while we know that health and social care staff are doing their best in the hardest of circumstances, they’re often finding themselves without the specialist knowledge or capacity to look after dying patients and their families. This needs to change.
Everyone deserves to die #InAGoodPlace, not matter who they are. For more information or if you want to host your own Dying Matters Awareness Week event, visit the Dying Matters website.