News
Tribute to those who bequeath their bodies to medical science
In Memoriam is an anthology bringing together the work of professional writers and students as a tribute to the selfless people who bequeath their bodies for the teaching and research of medical students and staff.
Launching on 18 February in Dundee, the theme of the book is Death and Life. Within it, Dundee University Chaplain, Fiona Douglas, has written about the gratitude of the students for their ’Silent Tutors’ and their annual Service of Thanksgiving.
As well as life stories of some of the people who donated their bodies to medical science, the book includes a selection of poetry, elegy and prose. Contributors include:
- John Carey, emeritus professor at Oxford
- Costa Book of the Year Winner, Christopher Reid
- Alan Warner, the Scottish novelist whose Morven Callar and The Sopranos have been made into films.
A sequence of photographs by Calum Colvin gives a haunting image of the singular life moving from light to shadow, and the book includes a beautiful piece by Professor Aidan Day on Tennyson’s haunting poem, In Memoria.
Christopher Reid, whose wife bequeathed her body to medical science, has contributed a new poem in which he writes:
Yet he’d felt her floating away
like the belle of the ball,
rapt in the embrace
of a rival partner,
while he had had to look on:
envious, impotent, shrivelling,
back to the wall
In Memoriam is being launched on Saturday 18 February 2012 at 6pm in the University of Dundee’s Dalhousie Building. More information is available here: weblink.
More information about donating your body to medical science is available here: weblink.
Launch of new palliative care information website
A new Scottish website designed to provide members of the public with information about palliative care has been launched.
The Palliative Care zone brings together a range of information on different aspects of palliative care with the aim of making it easier for people to access quality-assured information on palliative care.
Mark Hazelwood, director of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, said: “Many tens of thousands of people in Scotland live with advanced or life threatening illness. Even more people are supporting a friend, colleague or family member who is affected.
“The Palliative Care Zone is for all these people. It will help them get all the information which they need, whether that information is about managing symptoms, arranging a holiday or planning ahead to cope with possible further deterioration in their condition. Palliative care is about getting the best out of life, even where a cure may not be possible. This zone provides a wealth of practical and useful information, as well as signposting to other resources.”
The palliative care zone is divided into six sections:
Symptom Control - describes some of the symptoms most common in a progressive condition, and provides information on how they can be managed.
Talking About My Condition - offers some simple advice to help people feel more comfortable asking questions to find out what they need to know. It also contains information on how to talk to children, and sources of support for people with learning disabilities.
Babies, Children and Young People – this section directly links to the Together for Short Lives website. Together for Short Lives is a voice for children and young people who are not expected to live to reach adulthood and their families. They work to ensure that these families have the best quality care and support wherever they live and whenever they need it.
Practical Help – provides information about different people who can help with palliative care needs, enabling people with progressive conditions to be as independent as possible and still do the things they enjoy. This section also directs users to organisations that can provide information on finances.
Planning for the Future – this section provides information and advice on the important decisions an individual might need to make regarding their future care, and also provides information on legal issues.
Preparing for Death and Bereavement - aims to provide supportive information to help in the time leading up to death, and to support family and friends in their bereavement.
The Palliative Care zone is part of NHS Inform, a website hosted by NHS 24 and designed to provide members of the public with a single source of trusted health information. The Palliative Care zone is the final outcome of the work of Living and Dying Well short life working group 4, and has been produced with significant support and input from NHS Forth Valley, Macmillan Cancer Support and the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care. Any comments or feedback on the new site can be emailed to the Scottish Parntership for Palliative.
Launch of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief officially launched in Edinburgh on 22nd November. The launch was marked by Dining with Death, a 2-course lunch with conversation menu to illustrate some of the principles of the alliance.
The launch was attended by Liz Lochhead, Scotland’s poet laureate, who shared her personal experiences and read a poem about death and grief. Delegates also witnessed the premier of 20 takes on death and dying, a short film in which members of the Scottish public talk about death, dying and bereavement.
Over a 2-course lunch at Howies Restaurant, delegates were encouraged to follow a ‘conversation menu’ addressing questions such as ‘What things do you think make for a good death?’ and ‘How would you like to be remembered?’.
The 70 invited guests heard from Kate Lennon, Chair of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, about the aims, visions and values of the new alliance, which hopes to make Scotland a place where there is more openness about death, dying and bereavement.
One couple who understand the importance of talking about death is Scott and Llana McNie, who organised their toddler daughter’s funeral before she died.
The parents lost their three-year-old daughter Sienna to brain cancer in April, three months after they were told she couldn’t be cured.
Her parents say the reluctance among medical professionals to talk about Sienna’s death meant they almost didn’t get the chance to bring her home to die.
Scott added: “We found the doctors didn’t want to talk about palliative care options for Sienna. No one asked us where we wanted her to die.
“If we hadn’t been so willing to talk about Sienna’s death she would have spent her final weeks in a hospice rather than with her family and that would not have been right for us as a family.
“We had to accept she was going to die to make sure she had the best possible time while she was with us.
“We also wanted to give her the best funeral we could arrange, complete with a pink coffin in a pink carriage pulled by white horses and 100 pink balloons.
“To organise that took planning and we wanted to do it when we were still in the right frame of mind to do it.
“Death is a fact of life and when it’s a child it is very, very sad, but not talking about it can only make the situation worse.”
Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief currently has over 100 members. Membership is free, and open to all groups, organisations and individuals who wish to support the aims and objectives of the alliance. Sign up here.
Links
Short film: 20 takes on death and dying twenty takes on death and dying
Media coverage of the launch
Power of Attorney numbers increase steadily
Statistics from the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) show that the last decade has seen a steady increase in the number of people arranging a Power of Attorney (PoA).
Granting a Power of Attorney is a straightforward legal process enabling people to make arrangements for the future, should they become unable to manage their affairs themselves. By arranging a Power of Attorney, a person can give someone they trust the authority to deal with certain aspects of their affairs if they lose capacity due to ill health in the future. The process is cheap and many Scottish pensioners can have the legal work done for free have their fees subsidised under the Legal Advice and Assistance scheme.
In 2001/02 fewer than 6000 people in Scotland preparing a Power of Attorney. However, last year, over 38,000 made these arrangements. This increase is to be welcomed but still the percentage of the adult population who have appointed attorneys seems disturbingly small – well under 1% of the adult population prepared a Power of Attorney last year
Unfortunately where no Power of Attorney exists but incapacity strikes a family, someone from that family will have to complete a stressful court action to gain powers to act on behalf of the ill person. All the hassle and cost involved in the court proceedings can be completely avoided if a Power of Attorney is put in place before illness strikes.
David Borrowman, Managing Partner at Caesar & Howie solicitor’s believes that timely legal preparations can help reduce the distress families experience as they go through the difficulties associated with death, dying and bereavement:
“People who sensibly address practical issues by arranging a Will, Power of Attorney and Advance Directives generally feel a real sense of satisfaction knowing they have done everything they can to assist their loved ones should illness or death strike. Families too come through the adverse events much better when the party involved has taken the basic preparatory step.
"Preparing a power of attorney is probably the best and most helpful single legal task someone can do to benefit themselves and their family in the case of illness or death. And it is easy and cheap to do.”
When arranging a Power of Attorney, a person can choose exactly what powers they want to grant, whether relating to financial/property matters, or personal welfare. It is set up in a manner to ensure that a person retains their own autonomy for as long as possible.
More information on Power of Attorney and relevant statistics are available on the website of the Office of the Public Guardian.
- Stats: http://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/whatwedo/historical%20stats.asp
- Power of Attorney: http://www.publicguardian-scotland.gov.uk/forms/power_of_attorney.asp
Working for openness
Members of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief are working to make Scotland a place where people can be open about death, dying and bereavement.
Various projects are currently under way, and this section of the website includes information about all the projects we are aware of. We are always keen to hear from members, and to update our online database with current activities.
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