Don’t leave hospice care to chance

When you think about a hospice, most people imagine a sad building where people come to die.

Most people assume it’s somewhere that people only go to when they are dying. Most people avoid talking about death and dying and would never consider visiting a hospice unless they need it.

Let’s change some of that thinking and make it more around the fact that most people know the opposite. Our hospice is a warm, welcoming space, where people can come long before they need it, because it is part of the community. It’s supportive, inclusive, and most of all, not a place where people come to die.

As the Community Engagement Officer at Blythe House Hospice, my role is to be community facing (it’s in the title!) and encourage conversations with everyone about what our hospice does, bust some misconceptions, and ensure we are there to support patients, their families, carers, healthcare professionals and the general public. In fact, we are here for everyone. Right now.

What about talking about death and dying? This remains a social taboo and people do not feel comfortable or confident in having these tender conversations with loved ones. As a society, we are much more removed from death and dying than in previous years. Death used to be something that brought a community together, but nowadays people can be in their 50s or even 60s and never been with someone who died.

Wouldn’t it be better if people had those conversations about their wishes long before there was a diagnosis? Wouldn’t it be better if people had their ‘house in order’? We view that as an act of kindness for loved ones left behind when someone dies.

But if we don’t open those conversations, how do loved ones know what to do?
So, here at Blythe House Hospice, we offer training called Last Days Matter to help people express their wishes, whatever their age, background and beliefs.
It’s about not taking ‘a chance’ that you will know what to do, it’s about helping people to take action before it’s too late.

Last Days Matter is more about a conversation in a safe space. It can be triggering, emotional and thought provoking. It’s a call to act now, not in 10 or 20 years when that life changing diagnosis is received or you or a loved one are facing the end of life. Death in other words.

Let’s get better at saying the words, death, dead, dying. There are two main facts in life. One is that we will be born; the second is that we are all going to die. We are not ‘lost’, ‘passed on’, ‘at rest’ or ‘gone to sleep’. We are dead. We died.

In Hospice Care week, it’s good to focus on what our hospice can do to help. To know more about it, to be prepared and most of all help change the narrative around death and dying long before we need it.

In summary, Blythe House Hospice sits in the community and is part of the community Don’t take a chance on hospice care. Come and find out for yourself that it’s absolutely not a sad place where people sit around waiting to die. It’s not a place where people go to die.

And talking about death and dying is a kindness for those you love. Do get in touch if you would like to visit Blythe House or attend our free Last Days Matter training. I would be really happy to see you.

Sarah Sewell, Community Engagement Officer – get in touch.