Dr. Max is available to answer questions on death, dying caring and loss, to mark this launch.
We see a future where we all – old and young, men and women – participate in improving the experience and practice of all our ageing, dying, caring and loss; we see a future where good care of the dying is not just in hospices but the best care is available to everybody through collaborative groups and communities.
WHAT IS DIEALOG DORSET?
The aim of ‘Diealog Dorset’ is to improve the practice and experience of all our ageing, dying, caring and loss on a longer time view.
‘Diealog Dorset’ includes a broad range of organisations, champions and individuals across the locality.Diealog Dorset is the collaborative End Of Life Community Development project betweenDorset Compassionate Community (DCCy) and Conscious Ageing Trust (CAT) charitiesto create a public health framework and mechanisms for the successful implementation of the Dying Well Community Charter.
Diealog is part of the Concious Aging Group (CAT). CAT is an independent health and social change charity (UK registered 1120811).
How do we see the Future?
- We see a world where it is normal for everybody to talk about ageing, dying, caring and loss
- We see a world where everybody knows our wishes and preferences about our future dying
- We see a world where good care of the dying isn’t just in hospices, but the best care is available for everybody
- We see a world where we all – old and young alike – can give our care, compassion and energy and are confident in our skills and abilities to help look after all of our future ageing and dying
Diealog Dorset Has Been Awarded Pathfinder Community Status
Public Health England is leading a ground-breaking new approach to grow networks of collaborative communities to help improve everybody’s health and wellbeing at end of life, and to encourage us all to develop our own approaches to death, dying, caring and loss. Diealog is in the first wave of 8 Pathfinder Communities awards, and the only 100% community lead project.
THE CHARTER EVENT AND OPTING IN
The Charter “is a rallying call to society to improve care of the dying”.
We will bring together all relevant public, private and voluntary services in Dorset to advance the principles of the Dying Well Community Charter and with communities implement our integrated End of Life Community Development programme on a phased basis.
People who wish to participate can opt-in via www.diealogdorset.org : come to the launch, join in the ‘Diealog Dorset’ collaborative wellbeing project and help make good experience and better practice for all our ageing, dying, caring and loss.
We want Dorset to get talking through our Listening Tree Roadshows Discussion, Death Cafés and other events.
THE FACTS
- Most of us will have capacity to make decisions until the last few days or weeks of our life. Only 1:3 will go through our last years of decline with a terminal illness with reduced capacity to make our own decisions
- 50% of complaints to hospitals involve somebody’s death or dying
- The major complaint people make about hospital health staff involved with death and dying is the need for more compassion
- 70% of us say we are comfortable to talk about death and dying, but less than 30% of us have actually got round to doing it
- Most of us say we don’t talk about death because it feels “a long way off”. In the 75+ age group, the main reason they don’t talk about death and dying is because “other people do not want to talk to me about my death”
- 80% of us say we feel confident about planning support and care for our future dying, but less than 5% of us have written an ‘Advanced Care Plan’, and only 11% have made funeral plans
- 63% of us say we would start planning for our death to make it easier for our family or friends
- 2/3 of us say we want to die at home, but only 20% of actually do so
Diealog Says: Most of us say we are comfortable about discussing our ageing and dying and issues related to the end of our lives, but in practice, few of us are actually getting round to making practical plans or talking specifically about our wishes.
THE SPOKESPERSON
Dr. Max Mackay-Jamesis a 60+ GP doctor who decided to take off the medical white coat, roll up his sleeves and get stuck in at the grassroots. He has a Diploma in Palliative Care (Kings, London Uni) and the main focus of his work is on ageing and dying in the community. He helped set up the Conscious Ageing Trust charity in 2007, and as director he is active in facilitating “get people talking” groups, leading and participating in Storytelling events, and speaking out on ‘equal society’ ageing and dying issues. He helped create and lead both the Diealog and Men Beyond 50 projects where the heart of his work is about inclusivity, supporting vulnerable and at risk groups, reaching across generations, making a positive impact on the lives of older men, and leading and supporting initiatives to enable us all (young and old) to live conscious positive lives to the very end.
Through Diealog, Max is able to open conversations about death and dying including emotive ones such as assisted dying and suicide. ”We don’t take sides but we do encourage people to explore their own thoughts and perhaps create a conscious opinion or at least ask questions of themselves and their loved ones. Death is everyone’s business and we want to grow the conversation!”
DISCUSSIONS WITH DR. MAX
Some of the main aspects of ageing, dying, caring and loss that can be discussed includes:
- Present Life: ageing issues, current energy/health, preoccupations, thinking about the conversations we want to have, talking to our families and loved ones
- Living Well: activities, pleasures, social life and friends, and how to live as good a life as possible all the way to the very end
- Looking Forward: What preparations we want to make before we die, hopes, plans, things lacking and ‘bucket list’ wishes
- Looking Back: successes, failures, regrets, and celebrations
- End-of-life information sources, and guidance on practice and care:
- Practicalities of doing a Will, funerals, and planning future care (Advance Care Planning) and options
- Support for our living circumstances, carers, and dealing with our property and belongings
- Trustworthy and reliable information about palliative care, and where to find help, support, advice and guidance
- Practical know how about caring for the dying and information on and access to Life/Death Companions.
- Timely and untimely death: grieving and coping with unexpected deaths, suicide and difficult endings.
- End-of-Life moral issues and ethical questions about death and dying, including questions of campaigning and changing the law.
- Explorations of death in society, and the many meanings and constructions of death in our culture, including the so-called ‘good death’.
- Spirituality including spiritual practices and the experience of ‘Nearing Death Awareness’.
THE EVENT
Date: March 25th, 2015
Time: 1:30 – 5:00pm
Location: Poole General Hospital
Post Graduate Centre
Poole Hospital
Longfleet Road
BH15 2JB
Links
Diealog Dorset https://www.diealogdorset.org
Diealog https://www.diealog.co.uk
Conscious Ageing Trust https://consciousageing.org/
Contact
For photographs and all media enquiries, please contact Lesley O’Brien at [email protected] or call 0798517021.
