[A] team from Hospice at Home Carlisle and North Lakeland is going to try the impossible and get people talking about end of life in a positive and engaging way as part of the nationwide annual Dying Matters Awareness Week (14-20 May 2018).
The first ‘Festival of Thoughts’ will feature interactive activities, a cinema corner, fete style games, free refreshments and an informal chat about the work of Hospice at Home that will hopefully encourage the community to consider end of life choices and plans that can be made. The goal is to create a friendly space for people to ask questions about end of life care issues, such as making a will, or coping with bereavement.
The event is taking place on Wednesday 16th May, from 2-4pm at the Hospice at Home Courtyard Garden at Valley Court, Barras Lane, Dalston, CA5 7NY. All are welcome to attend and please encourage friends, family, colleagues and neighbours to join us.
The Festival of Thoughts is one of hundreds taking place across England for Dying Matters Awareness Week, which runs from 14th – 20th May 2018. For more information about Dying Matters Awareness Week, and the events on across the country, please visit www.dyingmatters.org
The theme for this year’s Dying Matters week is “What Can You Do” as it challenges people to do something practical. This might be something for themselves, like making a will, or something for someone else who is bereaved, or caring for a dying relative. This could be something as simple as cooking a meal or walking the dog, but can make a huge difference to someone coping with death or bereavement.
Julie Boothman, Senior Nurse and Staff Team Leader for Hospice at Home said “this is a first for us, but we’ve seen all the other events taking place across the country and we think there’s a need for it here. Talking about death can be a bit awkward at first, but it is something we all have to face. Talking about death makes it easier to plan for and to deal with when it happens.”
Claire Henry MBE, Chief Executive of the National Council for Palliative Care and the Dying Matters coalition, said “we should not be afraid of talking about death, I know that everyone has questions and concerns, its good talk about it as we can all get our plans in place and then get on with living.”
Research from ComRes, commissioned by Dying Matters in 2016, found that only 35% of British adults had made a will, and only 30% have discussed their funeral wishes.
