It’s ok to talk about death, dying and grief

We are pleased to be supporting Dying Matters Awareness Week from 6^th – 12^th May.

Hospice UK’s Dying Matters Awareness Week campaign aims to create an open culture in which we’re comfortable talking about death, dying and grief.

We will be exploring the language that we use and the conversations that we have around death and dying – specifically between healthcare professionals and patients, carers and their families.

Honest, timely conversations about death and dying are essential to good end-of-life care and are a vital part of the specialist care that we provide at our Hospice.

Liz Monaghan, Matron of the Hospice says ““The same word can have many different meanings and when we are talking about dying, we need to be sure that all are using the same definition.
For example, poorly can mean from a sore toe to someone who is sick enough to die. People worry about using the words death and dying but using words that are unambiguous can allow for conversations to be clearer for all and patients and families to be prepared for the end of life.”

Throughout this week we will be sharing content on our social media platforms to raise awareness of Dying Matters Awareness Week and encourage discussion on the topic.

Below you will find some video resources exploring the topic further:

We have also been speaking to Pete our Hospice Chaplain about the language he uses when talking to patients and their loved ones, you can watch this video here: