10th – 16th May 2021
This year, the week will focus on the importance of being in a good place to die.
Where people die is changing. More and more people have been dying at home in recent years. And the
pandemic has seen this number leap by tens of thousands.
We know that when asked, more than four in five people say they would prefer to die at home, but we don’t know
enough about what the reality of this looks like. We have very little evidence about the quality of these deaths, and
whether the right care and support was in place. The quality of care for some people at the end of their life is still not good enough.
There is no right or wrong place to die; it will be different for everyone. But it is important for families to think about
it, to talk about it and to plan for it. Planning for death is more important than ever in a time when the COVID-19
pandemic has taken so many lives at such short notice, and in circumstances that are beyond our control.
We want people of all ages to be in a good place when they die – physically, emotionally and with the right care in place. Getting there means having some important conversations, and taking some careful decisions.
Talking about dying isn’t easy, but it matters.
The Dying Matters campaign aims to create an open culture that talks about death and where people feel able to listen and support those who are planning for end of life, who are dying and who have been bereaved. We want to break the stigma around death, to challenge preconceptions and to normalise public openness around death and dying.
Make sure that you and your loved ones are in a good place to die – join the Dying Matters movement.
