Managed dying. The new palliative care?
Managed dying should be about shared decision making but it rarely is. It’s usually a doctor telling patients what the most conservative option is and why they should choose it.
Advance Care Plans: The Basics
When it comes to the subject of Advance Care Planning, for many it is a case of ‘There’s always time to do it later”, until it is too late. It often takes a life limiting – or threatening – illness/condition for people to really start planning for the end of their life. Ideally though, the […]
3 Avoidable Reasons People Don’t Get the End of Life They Want
People often bounce in and out of hospital in the final years of their life – up to 8 times in their last year of life alone. But why is this the case, and surely it’s not necessary? The truth is, people often don’t have the ongoing care that they would like or need in […]
Why doctors need your Advance Care Plan
Hospitals and verbal communication Hospitals are a place where verbal communication goes to die. This is unfortunately a common truth – our modern health care system is incredible and helps many people every day, but it is also a place where people’s wishes can be missed in and people can become caught in the system. […]
You Can’t Predict the Future, But You Can Plan For It
Working as a doctor, I have seen first hand what happens when we don’t face up to our mortality. The sad truths about hospital that no one tells you One night when I was on duty a 95 year old gentleman came into our hospital with severe flu and pneumonia. He caught the flu […]
7 Tips To Help You Ask About Ageing, Death And Dying
Lidy Seysener is used to difficult conversations. She’s been having them, and leading others through them, for her whole career over about half a century. She knows that some of the most difficult conversations we’ll ever need to have in our lives are about ageing, death and dying. And it’s no less confronting for those […]
What is palliative care, and what isn’t it?
Palliative care has been in Australia for years, but is often misunderstood. People often think that palliative care just means that they stop treating your illness and only treat your pain. Actually, it has a lot more to offer than just pain. But many are confused about what it actually is, so we’ve made it […]
Planning A Funeral? Think outside The Box
Planning A Funeral? Think Outside the Box In this video, Dr Merran Cooper is with Liz from Picaluna. They talk about ensuring funerals are authentic to who the person is, from selecting a celebrant to including pets in the ceremony.For more information see https://www.picaluna.com/ Funeral planning doesn’t have to be any grand thing […]
New Ways of Sharing about Death and Dying
Looking for new or unusual spaces and places to meet others and talk about caring for someone, living with a life-limiting disease, or getting your own affairs in order? Or just some inspiration to try? Try these ideas. 1. Outdoor spaces such as Community gardens, Supported Garden Programs. These are places of beauty where […]
