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Dying Matters Awareness Week

Monday 2nd – Friday 6th May is Dying Matters Awareness Week. 

Many people may feel uncomfortable talking about death, the process of dying and the impact it has on friends, family and loved ones, but the conversation doesn’t have to be as difficult as you may think.

Conversations around death and dying are emotional and often difficult to navigate, but it’s important for all involved that the person who is dying has an end of life plan in place to make their final few months/weeks/days as comfortable, peaceful and reassuring as possible. 

In 2009, the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) set up the Dying Matters Coalition to promote public awareness of dying, death and bereavement. The Dying Matters Coalition has 32,000 members across England and Wales with the aim of helping people talk more openly about dying, death and bereavement, and to make plans for the end of life.

The Dying Matters Coalition encourages people to talk about their wishes towards the end of their lives, including where they want to die and their funeral plans with friends, family and loved ones. You can find out more about Dying Matters at www.dyingmatters.org/

To mark Dying Matters Awareness Week, we are committed to ensuring our care teams have the knowledge, skills, and commitment to give them empowerment, through our new Palliative and End of Life Care training, which took place last month and included:

  • An Introduction to Palliative and End of Life Care
  • Communication at the End of Life
  • Recognising Signs of Deterioration
  • Symptom Management

and a range of other topics increasing awareness to enable our care teams to facilitate excellent palliative and end of life caregiving.

end of life care

Our Palliative and End of Life Care training was designed and led by Jim Cunningham, Abicare’s Clinical Lead Nurse, who has 15 years experience of working and teaching with specialist Palliative Care Hospice and Nursing Care Environments.

end of life training

“We were so nervous coming to this training but it has helped us learn about planning for End of Life Care. I would like to see more of this training” – Care Team 


“I found the Palliative and End of Life/Challenges in Communication in End of Life Care training enlightening, informative, and paramount to the work we do. I think the course will be invaluable to all staff across Abicare” – Jonathan Browne PIT Team Abicare

Abicare recognises the fundamentals in caregiving when our clients are nearing End of Life. Our philosophy of care aligns itself with National Key Stakeholders such as Hospice UK, in seeking to ensure that all our clients with palliative care needs have access to a range of services when they need them, for as long as they are needed.

Our mission and values respect the intrinsic value of life of each of our clients, including their right to privacy and dignity. We respect the culture, faith, beliefs of our clients by working in partnership with our clients and their families in meeting their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social and psychological needs. 

Committed, Honest, Empowering, collaborative, kind

To find out more about Abicare’s Palliative Care service, visit https://abicare.co.uk/types-of-care/palliative/


“You matter because you are you, and matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully but also live until you die” – Dame Cicely Saunders – Founder of St Christopher’s Hospice