Rethinking approaches to end of life

On 31 July, Sutherland Hospital hosted South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD) executive and clinical leaders to participate in the ‘Death Systems, Community Engagement & Compassionate Communities: Rethinking approaches to end of life’ workshop. The workshop was led by Associate Professor Kerrie Noonan from La Trobe University and the Death Literacy Institute, who is an international expert in public health approaches to palliative care.

Research tells us that people feel ill-equipped to navigate the health system when someone is dying or accessing aged care. Compassionate Communities develop social networks, social spaces and policies to support people through the period of living with a life-threatening or life-limiting illness, as well as grief and bereavement, and long-term caregiving.

The workshop began with a network mapping exercise to show the existing connections within SESLHD, between the workshop attendees. Associate Professor Noonan provided an overview of evidence for public health palliative care including unpacking the Death System and defining Death Literacy and Compassionate Communities, both core components within the academic literature. All of these factors underpin public health approaches to end-of-life care and enable community capacity building in death, dying and bereavement.

The importance of clinicians and healthcare professionals delivering death and grief literacy beyond the hospital setting and into the local community was also explored.

The workshop emphasised the need for people reaching the end of their life, and their carers, to have access to a social safety net or social network with people who have a level of death and grief literacy. This can help to provide compassionate support at this difficult time.

The workshop concluded with the group mapping the strengths and challenges SESLHD face when reorienting the system to integrate public health approaches to palliative care. The group discussed ways to enhance the social and organisational approaches to end-of-life care within the District’s services.

“If we matter, how we die matters. We all have a part to play in death and dying. Dying is always relational, contextual and embedded. Death and dying belongs in community, not just in a hospital,” said Dr Linda Sheahan, Clinical Stream Director, End of Life and Palliative Care at SESLHD.