People urged to think ahead on death

TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny urged delegates at a forum yesterday to think about, prepare for, and discuss their eventual death.

Preparing for the end of life, Mr Kenny observed, difficult as it is to contemplate, “helps avoid shock and confusion, and brings with it the capacity to reflect”. Thinking ahead, he said, brought “choice and a sense of dignity” to death.

“Think, talk and tell,” Mr Kenny urged delegates in Dublin yesterday at the Forum on End of Life in Ireland, where he launched their “Think Ahead” initiative.

He was referring to the campaign catchphrase, which encourages the public to prepare for death by completing a Think Ahead form. This form can now be downloaded from the website thinkahead.ie which went live yesterday.

There were 350 delegates at yesterday’s forum, which is an initiative of the Irish Hospice Foundation. Those present represented people from the health and legal professions, carers and undertakers, in addition to members of the public.

The forum was chaired by Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness. “The primary role of Think Ahead is to guide people in organising their thoughts and give them a resource that they can use to help them discuss sensitive issues with family, friends or carers,” she told delegates.

“People have the right to have a say in their care at all times of life including end of life but they also have the responsibility to let other people know of their decisions.”

Last year, 27,144 people died in Ireland. Almost half, 48 per cent, died in acute hospital situations.

The Think Ahead initiative focuses on trying to take the fear out of serious illness or death for both the affected person, and for their families, by being practical in advance of acute situations.

“Moving palliative and end-of -life care beyond the professional world and making it everyone’s business is essential,” said Mark Hazelwood, a speaker who was representing the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care.

The key idea behind completing the Think Ahead form is to collect information about an individual’s current medical state, and their wishes about any possible care during the end of their life, including whether they want to be resuscitated or not. The person then tells someone close to them how to access the document. It is also envisaged at some point that people who have completed the form would carry a card or medical bracelet to flag up this fact.

Dr Brendan O’Shea of the department of primary care and public health in Trinity College Dublin explained how the Think Ahead form had been piloted this summer. A GP practice in Dublin worked for three months with a small cohort of stable patients, who completed the forms, supported by follow-up phonecalls from the practice. “Nobody was upset, and there was 100 per cent positive feedback,” he stated.

The Forum on End of Life hope that there will be a significant take-up of people completing the forms, which are available both online and through Citizens Information Centres.

They are encouraging the public to visit the website and give feedback, and to start talking about a subject many avoid.

Also during the forum, Conor O’Clery gave the Mary Holland Commemorative Lecture, on the theme of resilience.

Both Holland and O’Clery were former Irish Times journalists. O’Clery spoke about the “idea of thinking ahead about one’s legacy after death” because “we all hand something down from the past when we die”.

Benefits of thinking ahead what the GROPU says:

*Wishes about end of life care can be expressed

* There is an opportunity to state any organ donation preference

* Medical information is recorded that may prove life-saving in an emergency situation

* A record is created of who to contact in case of medical emergency, and next of kin

* Making a will helps put your affairs in order for the family you leave behind

* Communicating your wishes to family or friends