End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE)

The face-to-face course includes group discussions, case studies, short films and handouts. 

By signing up for EASE face-to-face, you become part of small group of around 10-15 others working through the course at the same time. The group meets up for 2 hours each week for four weeks.

Upcoming face-to-face EASE courses for Autumn/Winter 2024:

• Glasgow East End (October/November)
• Cupar (November)
• Dundee (November)
• Isle of Mull (November)
• North Berwick (November/December)

To enquire about participating in one of the above courses, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

The online course includes independent learning, online forums and weekly Zoom discussions.

By signing up for EASE Online, you become part of small group of around 10 others working through the course at the same time.

The group meets on Zoom for around 1.5 hours each week for five weeks. 

In addition to the weekly Zoom sessions, individuals do independent learning and participate in online forums. In total the course requires a time commitment of approximately 3 hours per week for four weeks.

Sign up for a course

We are running EASE Online courses regularly depending on the availability of our volunteer facilitators.

For more information, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

EASE face-to-face

Upcoming face-to-face EASE courses for Autumn 2024:

• Glasgow East End (October/November)
• Cupar (November)
• Dundee (November)
• Isle of Mull (November)
• North Berwick (November/December)

To enquire about participating in one of the above courses, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

EASE online

We are running EASE online courses regularly depending on the availability of our volunteer facilitators.

For more information, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

EASE is for anyone resident in Scotland who wants to be able to support someone with issues they face relating to death, dying and bereavement.

The course welcomes adults of all ages, experiences, cultures and walks of life.

Perhaps you...

• care for a family member a friend whose health is deteriorating.
• expect that soon you may need to help care for a friend or family member who's health is getting worse.
• don't currently have caring responsibilities, but want to be equipped if you ever need to provide basic support for someone who is approaching the end of life.
• want to know a bit more about dying and bereavement, so that you feel better able to help someone you know who is going through difficult times.

If so, you may find the EASE course helpful.

Is the course for health and social care professionals?

EASE is designed for members of the public in Scotland, and welcomes adults of all ages, experiences and walks of life.

The EASE course does not provide training in palliative care or in clinical matters. It is not a CPD course. Some people may find the course of interest in their professional capacity, but in the event of limited places priority will be given to lay-people.

The courses are facilitated by unpaid volunteers who are motivated by a wish to upskill communities and lay people to be better able to support friend, family and neighbours through caring, dying and grieving.

Is the course available outside Scotland?

The course was developed by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, and limited resources mean that we currently are only able to deliver the course to people living within Scotland.

The course explores questions such as...

• How can I navigate the health and social care system in Scotland?
• What issues might crop up when someone is approaching the end of life?
• What medicines and treatments can help when someone is dying?
• How can I plan ahead for ill health and dying?
• What emotional issues might affect someone who is dying?
• What support can a friend or family member offer to someone who is caring, dying or grieving?
• How do I offer help without interfering?
• How can you look after yourself when you're looking after someone else?

The course teaches the basics of end-of-life care and address some of the fears and uncertainties people often have.

After completing EASE participants will...

• be better equipped to provide informal support to friends, family and community members dealing with death, dying and bereavement
• find it easier to deal with these issues when they have to face them themselves.
• know where to find further information and support in relation to these issues.

The course does not provide counselling, and cannot address specific situations or problems raised by individuals.

The course teaches the basics of end-of-life care and addresses some of the fears and uncertainties frequently held by members of the general public. It aims to help people to:

• Become better equipped to provide informal support to friends, family and community members dealing with death, dying and bereavement.
• Find it easier to deal with these issues when they have to face them themselves.
• Know where to find further information and support in relation to these issues.

You can choose to do either a face-to-face or an online version of the course. Both cover the same material and have four modules:

Module 1: An introduction to death in Scotland

This first module starts to explore what death looks like in 21st Century Scotland, encourages participants to think about the role of the health and social care system, and makes a start on getting comfortable talking about death, dying and bereavement.

Module 2: Serious illness and frailty

This module looks at some common issues that can arise towards the end of life and some of the emotional issues that can affect someone who is dying, as well as at what people can do to plan ahead to improve their end of life care experience

Module 3: The reality of dying

This week looks further at medicine and treatment; help and support; and emotional and spiritual issues, and participants start to think about active listening.

Module 4: Caring for the Carer

This module explores bereavement and some issues that can affect people who spend a lot of time looking after someone who is unwell or dying, and different ways people can look after themselves and each other.

Face-to-face version

In the face-to-face version of the course, participants meet for two hours each week for four weeks. There is some optional work that people can do at home during the week, but this is up to individual preference. The course is participative - participants watch short films, take part in group exercises and share thoughts and reflections with others on the group.

Online version

In the online version of the course, participants have a week to complete each module, which they do in their own time.

This includes several short films, some quizzes, exercises, short extracts of reading and sharing individual reflections on online discussion forums with other people on the course.

Each week, participants join in a weekly discussion session via Zoom, where they can share their reflections and talk through any issues that have arisen during the week.

In both the online and face-to-face versions of the course we try to create a sense of community with other course participants and course facilitators, learning and working together to build confidence and comfort in dealing with issues and supporting others through dying, death and bereavement.

In the online course, we do this through discussion in online group forums and through weekly zoom sessions. In the face-to-face course, the weekly sessions include group exercises and discussions.

We aim to provide a safe and friendly environment where participants can grow more confident supporting others going through these difficult times, and to think about how they cope with these issues themselves.

The ethos of the EASE course is one of peer learning and discussion. Each person who participates in the course brings with them their own unique life experiences -as well as learning from course materials, participants will learn from each other.

Each course is led by two volunteer Course Facilitators. Course materials have been developed by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care.

Each EASE course is delivered by a pair of volunteer EASE facilitators.

Anyone who has completed the EASE course as a participant is eligible to go on to the short EASE Facilitator Preparation course. 

The EASE course is designed to cascade out into communities. Interested community members are encouraged and supported to become EASE volunteer facilitators so they can deliver the course to their own communities (whether those are geographic communities, communities of identity, shared interest communities, communities of people facing a similar situation, or faith communities, for example).

In addition to the EASE facilitator preparation course, SPPC supports facilitators by providing course materials, ongoing admin and pastoral support, regular drop-in sessions, and regular facilitator networking events.

If you've completed the EASE course as a participant, and if you're interested in moving on to the EASE Facilitator Preparation course so you can deliver the EASE course yourself, you can join the EASE Facilitator Preparation Course Waiting List here or email caroline@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

On the EASE Face-to-Face course participants work through the four modules together in weekly sessions. The sessions are two hours long with a break in the middle, with refreshments provided. There is a mix of activities: films, reading, quizzes, case studies, and lots of discussion in bigger and smaller groups. 

On the EASE Online course, participants work through each weekly module on the learning platform Moodle - this includes watching films, reading, quizzes, noting down reflections and contributing to online discussion boards - before getting together for a weekly Zoom discussion with the other participants. 

Participants get access to the same material in both courses. 

EASE face-to-face

Upcoming face-to-face EASE courses for Autumn 2024:

• Dundee (September 2024)
• Kirkcaldy (to be confirmed)
• Carlops (to be confirmed)
• North Berwick (November/December 2024)

To enquire about participating in one of the above courses, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

EASE online

We are running EASE online courses regularly depending on the availability of our volunteer facilitators.

For more information, please email samara@palliativecarescotland.org.uk.

To join the waiting list for future courses, please sign up here.

Each EASE course is supported by two volunteer EASE Course Facilitators.

The primary role of an EASE Course Facilitator is to create a welcoming environment, facilitate group discussion, move the course along, and ensure the course content is covered.

Some EASE facilitators bring with them professional experience, for example in palliative care, care work, bereavement support or chaplaincy. Others bring life experience in other forms, whether that is in community work, facilitation skills, education, or personal experience of death and bereavement.

All EASE Course Facilitators must first have completed the EASE course as participants as well as the short EASE Facilitator Preparation Course before they can deliver a course. All EASE courses are delivered by a pair of EASE Course Facilitators working together.

We welcome and encourage people from all backgrounds and experiences to become EASE facilitators, and go on to organise and run courses for their own communities and networks.

If this is something you are interested in, please get in touch. 

If you have completed the EASE course as a participant and would like to find out about upcoming EASE Facilitator Preparation Courses, please sign up here.

You can download a PDF of our leaflet here. If you’d like leaflets sent to you, please email.