North Yorkshire NHS staff are supporting the ‘Are We Ready?’ message for Dying Matters Awareness Week this week.

Staff at Harrogate District Hospital and Ripon Community Hospital, part of Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, are marking Dying Matters Awareness Week by encouraging the importance of talking about wishes and preferences for those who have a life-limiting diagnosis and the importance of discussing with families and friends.

Dying Matters Week takes place annually in May, and provides an opportunity to place the importance of talking about dying, death and bereavement on the national agenda. The week takes place 13-19 May, and theme of this year’s Dying Matters Week is ‘Are We Ready?’

Staff from the Trust’s Palliative Care Team are hosting information stands in the main entrance of Harrogate District Hospital and at Ripon Community Hospital during the week – providing advice and support to patients and families. The team are also encouraging members of the public and colleagues to write down ‘Five things to do before I die’ and share them on their ‘wishes’ board.

Sarah Davie, Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist/Education Lead with Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This Dying Matters Awareness Week, we are encouraging the importance of talking about death, and your wishes and preferences after you pass away. It’s vitally important that these are discussed with family and friends; otherwise it can cause a lot of distress.

“We are supporting the national message of ‘Are We Ready?’, and by openly discussing our wishes, we can make sure they are fulfilled. We encourage everyone to talk to their relatives and friends, both during and after the week.”