End of life and palliative care professionals help people in Swindon to talk, plan and live

Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is inviting people in Swindon to a free talk in support of Dying Matters Week (13 – 19 May), to encourage open conversations about death, and planning ahead for the end of life.

The Trust’s end of life and palliative care teams will be introducing attendees to the benefits of using the advance care plan, a document people can update and amend as they make decisions about what is important to them, as well as helping people to talk about their wishes and record them.

This will be followed by a Q&A session hosted by an end of life nurse specialist, Lorraine Hart and the chaplain, Chris Mattock about care options and bereavement services that are available.

Nurses from the hospital, community teams and Prospect Hospice will also be present to answer any questions.

Commenting on the importance of starting the conversation, Dr Joe Hawkins, lead palliative care consultant at the Trust said: “Death is a natural part of our lives and by talking about it, we hope to encourage people to start having these conversations with their loved ones, and normalise healthy discussions around planning ahead for the end of life.

“Advance care planning isn’t necessarily about planning for the medical aspects of your treatment. It can be a discussion about how you want to be remembered, and who you want to be with at the end of life.

“People don’t have to be terminally ill or in their last year of life to consider planning ahead. Losing the ability to make decisions for yourself can happen unexpectedly and planning for your care can take time, so it’s best to start the conversation early on.”

The free talk will be held at 6.00pm on Thursday, 16 May in the Academy at The Great Western Hospital, Marlborough Road, Swindon. Refreshments will be provided, for a small donation to Brighter Futures, the Trust’s fundraising charity.

Anyone is welcome to attend and there is no need to register in advance.