To: Secretary of State for Health - The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
Campaign to make it easier for people to die in their own homes.
Please make it easier for those who are in the final months of their life to get their preferred choice of dying in their own home.
Why is this important?
In a recent survey 82% want to die in their own homes but only 18% actually are able to do this.
Learn from organisations like Colchester & Tendring "Single Point" a joined up service who made it possible for my Mother to stay at home until she passed away.
As I work in this field I knew how the system worked re the Mental Capacity act assessments worked and we were able to avoid a 3rd hospital admission. The out of hours service do not have access to her preferred place of care notes but as she was able to express her wishes despite her dementia my Mother got what she wanted, we saved the taxpayer money and gave her the wish to die at home. It was not an easy choice for us to make but I have no regrets. She died with dignity and respect and she passed peacefully away in her own bed, with family present who were chatting to her despite her being unconscious and holding her hand. Now isn't that all any of us can ask for.
The Health and social services system is geared to hospital/nursing/residential homes so under the current system you need to be really clued up to navigate through "the Care Act 2014". Please make it easier for a family/friends/neighbours/carers to assist patients to make an informed choice. Make more information available about the kind of support they could have and training opportunities as needed in how to care for someone at the end of their life, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Please train more community carers in end of life (palliative) care and make emotional support available for all who do this work. Let's get back to community caring rather than just caring being a business.
Learn from organisations like Colchester & Tendring "Single Point" a joined up service who made it possible for my Mother to stay at home until she passed away.
As I work in this field I knew how the system worked re the Mental Capacity act assessments worked and we were able to avoid a 3rd hospital admission. The out of hours service do not have access to her preferred place of care notes but as she was able to express her wishes despite her dementia my Mother got what she wanted, we saved the taxpayer money and gave her the wish to die at home. It was not an easy choice for us to make but I have no regrets. She died with dignity and respect and she passed peacefully away in her own bed, with family present who were chatting to her despite her being unconscious and holding her hand. Now isn't that all any of us can ask for.
The Health and social services system is geared to hospital/nursing/residential homes so under the current system you need to be really clued up to navigate through "the Care Act 2014". Please make it easier for a family/friends/neighbours/carers to assist patients to make an informed choice. Make more information available about the kind of support they could have and training opportunities as needed in how to care for someone at the end of their life, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Please train more community carers in end of life (palliative) care and make emotional support available for all who do this work. Let's get back to community caring rather than just caring being a business.
