News

Aims and Principles of the COVID-19 Inquiry

SPPC has responded to the Scottish Government's consultation on what the aims and principles of the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry should be. The inquiry is due to be established by the end of this year. Discussions are ongoing about how this Scottish inquiry will relate to the inquiry announced by the UK Prime Minster, but which is not due to be established until next spring.

You can read SPPC's response here.

Every Story's Ending - new report launched

Every Story's Ending is a new report by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. It explores what can be done in Scotland to improve people’s experiences of serious illness, dying and bereavement.

Every Story's Ending:

• sets out an ambition for what living with serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland could and should look like
• explores what matters to people when they are seriously ill, dying or bereaved
• explains why these issues are so important to so many people, and why change is needed
• takes stock of recent progress, work underway and the current situation regarding living with serious illness, dying and bereavement
• identifies key challenges
• explores how to make change happen over the next 3-10 years
• identifies priorities and recommends actions that will make a positive difference to experiences of living with serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

Full report

The document can be downloaded here: Every Story's Ending: Proposals to improve people's experiences of living witih serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland - FULL REPORT

Summary version

A 10-page summary of the report can be downloaded here: Every Story's Ending: Proposals to improve people's experiences of living witih serious illness, dying and bereavement in Scotland - SUMMARY VERSION

Short film

Watch this 5-minute film to find out more about Every Story's Ending: Every Story's Ending Short Film

Poster Parade: Call for Abstracts

After the success of last year's virtual Poster Parade, this year we are once again running a virtual poster display and competition as part of an Autumn Season of online events to replace our usual Annual Conference.

Are you involved in an interesting project or in an area of work that you would like to promote and showcase? Why not present your work at our virtual poster exhibition? This is a great opportunity to share your learning and tell others about your work. The call for posters is now open.

More information is available here: Poster Parade: Call for Abstracts

Demystifying Death Week takes place across Scotland

Shining a light on death, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

Demystifying Death Week takes place this week (10-16 May), shining a light on death, dying and bereavement in Scotland.

Why?

People usually want to do the right thing when someone they know is caring, dying or grieving. But often they can feel awkward offering help, or worry about making things worse.

People can have questions about serious illness or death. But often they don't know who to ask.

Making plans when you’re healthy means there is less to think about when you’re ill. But often people put off making plans until it is too late.

Demystifying Death week is about giving people knowledge, skills and opportunities to plan and support each other through death, dying, loss and care.

Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief

The week was initiated by Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief – a charity-led collaboration of more than 1000 individuals and organisations that want Scotland to be a place where people can be open about and plan for death, dying and bereavement.

“If people know a bit more about death and dying, they’re in a better position to take control of their own situation, support others, make plans and have informed decisions about what they’d want when the time comes.” said Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief.

“Sometimes people worry about things, like what to say to someone who’s been bereaved, or being refused CPR. Perhaps having more information about these could help people worry less.

“There are lots of resources out there that provide information, but sometimes it is difficult to know where to look. We want to make this information easier for people to get at, and we’ll sharing a lot of it this week using the hashtag #DemystifyDeath.”

This will include information on the kinds of preparations people can make if they are worried their health may get worse, for example by making a Power of Attorney and talking to the people close to them about an anticipatory care plan. They will also be sharing tips on how ordinary people can provide informal support to a friend or family member who is caring, dying or grieving, and places people can go for more formal support.

New short films

The week sees the launch of six short films, each aiming to demystify a different aspect of death, dying or bereavement. The ‘60 second shorts’ tackle head-on questions such as ‘What do children want to know about death?’, ‘How can I support a young person who’s bereaved?’ and ‘How might someone’s breathing change when they are dying?’.

Events

As well as an online media campaign, various online events are taking place during the week, for example, Say Something Dundee has plans for a Conversation Café, inviting locals to join in a relaxed, informal discussion around local experiences of death, dying, loss and care. The Compassionate Friends invites people to Say their name, to learn more about how to support parents and siblings who have been bereaved. A community in North Berwick will be welcoming community members to an online Armchair Chat, with a combination of music, discussion and input from Kathryn Mannix, author of the book With the end in mind.

A full list of events is available here: https://www.goodlifedeathgrief.org.uk/blogs/demystifying-death-week-2021/

“We’re often told that death is a ‘taboo’ – something that people don’t want to talk about.’ said Rebecca Patterson, Director of GLGDGG. ‘But surveys show that in Scotland most people are actually fairly comfortable talking about death. Perhaps the right opportunities just don’t present themselves. Demystifying Death week is a chance to open up about death, air these topics and become a bit better at supporting each other through these difficult times.”