Dying Matters

The Dying Matters coalition is developing a brand new website which will soon go online at www.dyingmatters.org.

In 2008, as part of its new End of Life Care Strategy for England, the Department of Health asked the National Council for Palliative Care to lead a national coalition to promote public awareness around death, dying and bereavement. Over the past few months steps have been taken to set up the coalition and we already have over 200 members. Preliminary work is now underway. This will not be a quick fix and there is much to do to achieve success in raising public awareness.

The first newsletter sets out our aims and approach to setting up the coalition as well as some of the work already in progress. Thank you to those who responded to our survey at the end of the year when we asked you to tell us what you were currently doing to raise public awareness. A summary of responses is included in the first newsletter.

The second newsletter officially presents our new name and logo for the ‘Dying Matters’ coalition. It also provides feedback from our inaugural forum held on 13th May 2009, future events planned to raise awareness of death, dying and bereavement in the UK and an introduction to the Dying Matters Team.

Dying Matters welcomes the publication of “The End of Life Care Strategy – One Year On”.

Click here to read NCPC’s response.

NHS North East has worked with a range of partners across the health, social care and voluntary sectors and patients and carers, to produce A Good Death Charter, which was launched at the Gosforth Marriott today (October 5). The pioneering charter sets out proposals for the kind of care and support which people who are dying, their families and carers, can expect.

A public consultation, supported by the Dying Matters Coalition starts on October 5 2009 and will run until the end of November. It aims to gather the region’s views and start a discussion about death and dying, an issue which is often avoided and ignored, despite being the one common inevitability we all share. To find out more visit: http://www.agooddeath.co.uk/

Freephone: 08000 21 44 66