News
Death Lunch Grants
Good Death Week is taking place across Scotland from 14 - 20 May 2018, inviting people to ask themselves, "What would a good death be for me?". There are many ways for community groups, workplaces and other organisations to get involved.
One is by holding a Death Lunch. It's easy to do:
- Find a space
- Organise some refreshments
- Invite friends, colleagues, family, or whoever you social circle happens to be
- Download our conversation menus and hand them out
- Pick an item from the menu
- Start talking!
To make it even easier we have a limited number of small grants of £50 available to help cover the costs of room hire and/or refreshments.
If you'd like to apply for a small grant, please e-mail robert.peacock@palliativecarescotland.org.uk by 30 April letting us know who you are, when and where you're holding your death lunch, and who you expect to attend.
(And if the Death Lunch doesn't strictly take place at lunchtime, that's OK too. There isn't a right or wrong time to get the conversation started!)
To Absent Friends Evaluation 2017
To Absent Friends is a people’s festival of storytelling and remembrance that takes place across Scotland from 1-7 November each year. It was created by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care and Good Life Good Death Good Grief to provide people with an opportunity to remember those who have died yet remain important to them.
In 2017, the To Absent Friends festival took place all over Scotland, with public events from Caithness in the north to Dumfries & Galloway in the south, as well as social media and online activity, and private reflection.
Good Life Good Death Good Grief has now produced an evaluation report that summarises and reflects on activity that took place as part of the 2017 Festival.
Key findings include:
- 45 To Absent Friends events took place across Scotland
- 100% of event organisers said they were “extremely” or “quite likely” to hold an event again
- 96% of survey respondents found it helpful to have opportunities to remember those who had died
- 62% said they found being part of a community was one of the most valuable aspects of To Absent Friends
The full report is available for download:
To Absent Friends 2017 Evaluation Report
New palliative care videos
The Primary Palliative Care Research Group at the University of Edinburgh have produced a series of videos for those living with declining health and those friends, family members and professionals caring for them.
The videos are based on detailed research with patients, families, doctors, nurses and other health and care professionals.
How To Live And Die Well provides information about the trajectories of declining health and is useful for those who want to plan ahead and talk with their family or close friends about what’s important for them if their condition worsens. It's available in two formats - one for individual watching, one for group discussions.
The group have also produced Early Palliative Care, a video aimed at professionals explaining the rationale for early palliative care, and Strictly Come Dying, which explains the typical trajectories of declining health through dance.
Click here for links to the videos.
Major new conference announced
In April, Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief and the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care are hosting a major national conference to showcase and explore current thinking and practice relating to public health palliative care in Scotland.
The conference, entitled Everyday Compassion: Supportive responses to dying and bereavement by schools, neighbourhoods and workplaces will bring together experts from across Scotland and the UK. It will be a chance to explore this diverse field from various angles, including sessions focusing on:
- Compassionate Communities
- Death education and bereavement support in schools
- My Power of Attorney Campaign
- Health Inequalities
The programme will feature a high quality line-up of plenary speakers and provide those working in the field with an opportunity to network and share their work with a national audience. The event takes place on Wednesday 25th April 2018 at Renfield St Stephen Centre, Glasgow.
For full programme and booking details click here.
To Absent Friends draws to a close
To Absent Friends has drawn to a close for this year. The festival of storytelling and remembrance ran from 1-7 November, although some events are still taking place into late November.
Activities took place from Caithness in the north to Dumfries & Galloway in the south, as well as online. Highlights included a reception at the Scottish Parliament and a community To Absent Friends supper at Broughton St. Mary's in Edinburgh.
A gallery of photos can be seen on the To Absent Friends site, as well as a full list of festival events.
A report on the festival is being written and will be available shortly, and then planning will start for next year's edition.
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