Dying to Know sparks powerful conversations
Sad or celebration? How conversations around advance care planning, death and dying can empower you or your loved ones to have your dying wishes respected.
For many people, conversations around death and dying can be taboo and confronting, but there are huge benefits to be gained from the discussion.
Western Sydney Local Health District’s inaugural Dying to Know event at Stanhope Gardens brought together 32 stallholders and talks by five speakers, offering a range of information and resources for the community about advance care planning, death and dying.
More than 250 people engaged with services on the day, as attendees, vendors and staff from the district.
Organised by Avril Egerton, Clinical Nurse Consultant & Lisa Nobbs acting Clinical Nurse Specialist for End-of-Life Care, Avril said simple conversations are a great place to start.
“To be able to respect death and dying, we need to plan for it, we need to prepare for it, and we need to be able to talk about it,” Avril said.
“We plan for a birth and a wedding and retirement, why not death? It is our final goodbye.”
Organised in partnership with Blacktown City Council, the event put advocacy for early advance care planning front and centre.
Having the right information can boost confidence to talk to loved ones about what matters most so we can support our loved ones.
“There's a lot of research that indicates people would choose to die at home, if they knew that was a choice," Avril said.
"It can happen, if the family know that's part of the plan.”
Avril said there are three key areas to look at when considering death and dying, the first is around living well while we can, and making choices for when we can't, often in the final weeks.
Living well means doing things we are able to do while we still can – can we fly overseas to see family or do I want to make a video and tell my story so my legacy remains.
The second is having a discussion around what matters most when the time comes. Answering logistical questions such as, where do I want to be, who do I want there? What's going to happen with my dog?
And the third is logistics for family.
“What song do you want at the funeral, what images of yourself do you want used, do you want it to be a celebration? …And who knows the netflix password!" Avril said.
Starting these conversations and knowing where you can access assistance and services was shared for attendees at the Dying to Know event.
From children’s books talking about grief to service providers, the event was a successful engagement to make the advance care planning, death and dying pathway easier for our community.
