SAIF Golden Charter

‘Plan end of life with family and friends’

An annual campaign has been breaking down the barriers that stop family and friends feeling comfortable discussing death. Dying Matters Awareness Week, which ran from 9-15 May, highlighted the need for open discussions about mortality and future wishes.

Research conducted by ComRes, on behalf of Dying Matters Awareness Week, spoke to more than 2,000 adults in Great Britain and found that 52% of Britons agree they have become more comfortable talking about their own death or that of people close to them over last five years, but that only 35% say they have made a will. Two-thirds (67%) said they would help someone organise or record end of life plans and 45% feel talking or thinking about death scares them.

For SAIF members, talking about death is a normal activity, but many people still find it difficult.

According to the research 25% of people believe that a medical breakthrough in the near future will extend their life expectancy significantly, while 45% admitted that discussing death made it feel closer.

Nearly half (45%) said that it scared them to some degree, and as many as one in seven (15%) feel that talking about death will actually make it happen.

Speaking to Dying Matters (www.dyingmatters.org) Claire Henry, Chief Executive of the National Council for Palliative Care and Dying Matters Coalition, pictured, said: “There is a lot of good news in this survey, along with some things that cause concern. It is good to see that so many people not only feel comfortable talking about death, but also that so many feel increasingly comfortable over time.

“And it’s encouraging that so many people would be willing to help someone else make end of life plans, and that so many feel they have someone they could go to.

“But it is concerning that this talk is not resulting in more action to get our plans and affairs in order. Talking about death is nothing to be scared of, and won’t make it happen. We all need to start to have this Big Conversation as part of the way we plan and prepare for all the important things in life.

And words need to be followed by action. We need to talk to our loved ones about what we want, sort our plans out, write them down and make sure people know where to find them. Putting our end of life plans in place enables us to get on with living.

“It takes a weight off our minds, and makes things easier for those we love as well.”