People across the Wellington area are being encouraged to have important conversations with their loved ones and start planning for the future during Dying Matters Awareness Week which runs until Friday.
Every year, healthcare professionals use Dying Matters Week to encourage all communities to get talking about death in whatever way, shape or form. This year, the theme is #InAGoodPlace.
St Margaret’s Hospice is supporting the national campaign along with hospices up and down the country to help people talk more openly about death, dying and grief and make plans for the end of life.
St Margaret’s focuses on ‘what matters to you’ rather than assuming ‘what’s the matter with you’, concentrating on what matters to a patient and their family so that it’s not just their clinical needs that are taken care of but so they can provide support to the whole person.
Whether that’s someone who has just been referred to the hospice or a patient who may be approaching the end of their lives, staff and volunteers ensure what matters most to individual patients is always their first priority.
Joy Milliken, Clinical Director at St Margaret’s, said: “All our lives we prefer to make choices about the way we live, and we make these choices based on what matters most to us.
“Everyone is different, and our choices are different too and it’s important that, where possible, we are in control of our choices as we approach the end of our lives.
“Talking about what will be important to us at the end of our life helps ensure our choices are heard and that we are in a good place. Staff and volunteers encourage and help patients to start these conversations so when the time comes, everyone knows what matters most.
“It’s important that all of us can have these conversations, making and sharing plans ahead of time can ease anxiety in the future. I encourage everyone to start the conversation and begin to talk openly about death, dying and what would matter to you if you were approaching the end of your life. We all want to be #InAGoodPlace.”
The hospice also has information and signposts patients and families to planning their funeral and making their Will. However, the hospice is keen to promote that it’s not just its patients and their families that this conversation is important for. Ensuring you have your affairs in order brings peace of mind and, if the worst happens, your families won’t be left with unanswered questions.
St Margaret’s Hospice has a number of online resources which are listed below to help people to plan for the future and help them to talk more openly about death, dying and bereavement.
Planning Ahead – https://www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/planning-ahead
Digital Legacy – https://www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/digital-legacy
End of Life information – https://www.st-margarets-hospice.org.uk/end-of-life-leaflets
For more information visit the St Margaret’s website