Projects

Tayside Power of Attorney Campaign Impact Report

In April 2014, NHS Tayside received £25,000 from the Joint Improvement Team (JIT) to make improvements to Anticipatory Care Planning (ACP). The funding was directed to start the Tayside Power of Attorney Campaign. This decision was made following an invitation from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Glasgow City Council to join their successful Power of Attorney Campaign. Coincidentally Lanarkshire were also in receipt of JIT funding and also accepted the invitation to join the POA campaign.

Representative from NHS Tayside, the three Local Authorities, Solicitors for Older People Scotland and Alzheimers Scotland, formed a Task and Finish Group (TFG) to take the work forward. Activities included television and radio advertisements, newspaper articles and a range of engagement events.

Initial results are very promising. Statistics from the Office of the Public Guardian Scotland, where POAs are registered, show that the number of POAs registered in Tayside for the first quarter of 2015 was 529. This is a significant improvement upon the average number of POAs registered per quarter in 2014 which was 307. It is also notable that Glasgow, who have had a longer sustained campaign, noted a marked increase (34%) in the total registrations for 2014.

The full report of the Tayside group's work is available here: Tayside Power of Attorney Campaign Impact Report.

Helen Dryden, Clinical Lead for Palliative Care, Angus

Sally Wilson, Locality Integration Improvement Manager, Angus

Before I Die walls and Death Cafes at the University of Dundee

Building on the success of last year, The University of Dundee’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, 3^rd year Nursing Students participated in events which coincided with Death Awareness week and their theoretical palliative care lectures.

The “before I die, I want to…….” walls ‘popped up’ again this year and gave students the opportunity to reflect on what is important to them, individually.

Death Cafes were used for the first time this year, as an educational forum, instead of the more traditional tutorial format. The Death Café approach sought to encourage students to consider death, dying and bereavement from a professional perspective. During previous classes, which ran last year, the students were introduced briefly to the concept of Death

Cafes and asked to suggest topics for conversation, which could be included in a Conversation Menu. These were collated, adapted and a Conversation Menu was produced. This provided a framework to support and encourage conversation, in a relaxed atmosphere. The students rose to the occasion, bringing snacks, drinks and nibbles to share! The Death Cafes created a real buzz and the students engaged in a variety of conversations. For example; they encouraged consideration and lots of conversation around whether euphemisms were used within health care, whether there is a taboo about death, dying and bereavement in health care, advance care planning, media portrayal of death and what can nurses do to help communities become more open about death, dying and bereavement.

We are always looking for new ways to present and encourage discussion around death, dying and bereavement, in order to enhance the students learning experience. The materials and resources available from the Good Life, Good Death, and Good Grief and Dying Matters websites, allow us to try new innovations, keeping us up to date with current trends!

Lynn Griffin, Lecturer, School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee

Dying Matters Awareness week in Angus

A number of events took place in Angus to mark Dying Matters Awareness week, which ran from 18 - 24 May. The Angus Death Cafe was made very welcome at the Old Bean Coffee House in Arbroath.

The group was of great interest to customers coming in for their morning coffee, with some of the regulars joining in the discussion. Huge thanks to the staff for making the group so welcome, and to the owner Gary Boyd.

Kilbryde Hospice Before I Die wall

Here at Kilbryde Hospice in East Kilbride, despite being in our infancy, we have been engaging with patients, carers, staff and volunteers to tell us their hopes and dreams before they die. We discussed the topic over the last week (18/5/15 – 22/5/15) alongside staff from NHS Lanarkshire who were encouraging patients and carers to consider completing an anticipatory care plan. Completion of this document allows patients and carers to have their concerns and goals recorded and for health care professionals to understand their wishes for their illness and their end of life.

Our “Before I die I want to” blackboard raised some thought provoking conversations and a few raised eyebrows but on the whole allowed us to consider the future. The diversity of comments was refreshing and humbling all in one. One patient mentioned that he hadn’t thought about his aspirations for the future despite having a life limiting illness diagnosed but he would consider it now. We patiently await his thoughts…

See below for a selection of our thoughts and aspirations.

Before I die, I want to…

Go to France

Sing live with a big band orchestra

Visit Ireland as it is one place I haven’t seen

See Central Park and have a picnic

Bring back the horse – DONE!

Visit the Grand Canyon

See Kilbryde Hospice open with in-patients

See my three grandchildren grow up and do well in life

Meet Terry Waite

See a cure for Parkinson’s

Go snorkelling/scuba diving

Whale watching in Iceland

Visit New Orleans and dance until the sun comes up

See the work and make lots of memories with my family

Stroke a giraffe

Learn something new each day

Live life to the full

Be happy and be a great Mum to my children

See the Northern Lights

Meet Billy Connolly

Be happy

Margaret Mary Cowan, Clinical Services Manager, Kilbryde Hospice