Preparing the people you support for good end of life
Some questions are harder than others. But when fear, awkwardness or stigma stop people asking about end of life, it can leave them feeling deeply unprepared and distressed.
Asking what matters most
Helping someone plan and prepare for the best end of life experience possible is about so much more than DNACPR forms. It's about having meaningful conversations over time and supporting them to think carefully about what matters most to them.
What are the things that make life joyful? What and who do we value the most? What makes life worth living for them?
This groundwork is essential to making sure someone is able to make meaningful choices, and prepare as well as they can for the latter years and end of their life.
Resources to help
Starting conversations
Finding a gentle way into these important conversations can be challenging. Our Talkabout magazine provides inspiration and support to prompt conversation and thoughts and prepare for end of life through stories, opinion and comment.
Life cafés
If you're looking for ways to spark group discussion about life, care and death, our Life Café toolkit is a helpful, positive way to fascilitate this. Designed by Marie Curie and Lab4Living, this kit offers a way to support people of any age group or ability to think about what matters to them as a way into having helpful conversations about end of life plans.
Resources for GPs
The Daffodil Standards is a free, evidence-based, structured approach to help your GP practice to consistently offer the best end of life care for patients. Developed by the Royal College of GPs and Marie Curie, the Standards include specific support for working with care homes.
Support for care homes
If you run or work in a care home, we're here to help you to deliver the best possible care for the people you support – with and without coronavirus – in the last year of life. We can help with specialist training, resources and clinical expertise in end of life care and planning.
Information and support
Talking to someone about dying
Talking to someone with a terminal illness who is approaching end of life
Good communication at end of life
Good communication is extremely important for providing good care to someone with a terminal illness.
Advance care planning
Advance care planning is a way for someone to express and document their preferences about how they wish to be cared for as their illness progres