We want Scotland to be a place where:
- People are well-informed about the practical, legal, medical, financial, emotional and spiritual issues associated with death, dying and bereavement.
- There are adequate opportunities for discussion of these issues, and it is normal to plan for the future.
- Public policies acknowledge and incorporate death, dying and bereavement.
- Health and social care services support planning ahead and enable choice and control in care towards the end of life.
- Communities and individuals are better equipped to help each other through the hard times which can come with death, dying and bereavement.
Key messages
We believe that:
- Being more open about death is a good thing.
- Planning for death when you’re healthy means there is less to think about if you get sick.
- We can all help each other with death, dying and bereavement.
- Coming terms with your own mortality can help you to live life to the full.
- There are steps individuals and communities can take to help others through difficult times relating to death, dying and bereavement.
- Death is happening all around us, causing sadness and difficulties that people often don’t share.
- Death can be upsetting, and people need to take the time to grieve.