What to do about dying? – with Richard Smith and Libby Sallnow

Episode 25,   Oct 22, 2022, 06:00 AM

We don’t like to think about death. To many, death and dying have no value and are relegated to the margins of our lives. So how could we die better in the UK? How do we bring death back into life?

We don’t like to think about death. To many, death and dying have no value and are relegated to the margins of our lives.

But about half a million of us in Britain die each year, mostly in our 80s, with half of us dying in our usual place of residence – in our own bed.

With palliative care stretched and family and friends often left unsupported, what could be an enriching and meaningful phase of life can become over-medicalised, transactional and feared.

There have been many attempts over recent years to normalise conversations on death, and in January this year The Lancet published its commission on the value of death following a five-year inquiry.

So how could we die better in the UK? Or as The Lancet commission puts it, how do we bring death back into life?

To discuss, our chief executive Dr Jennifer Dixon is joined by the two lead authors of the commission: 

  • Richard Smith, currently Chair of the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change. Richard’s former roles include editor of the BMJ, chair of the board of trustees of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh and director of the UnitedHealth Chronic Disease Initiative. 
  • Libby Sallnow, Palliative medicine consultant at CNWL & UCLH and honorary senior clinical lecturer in new public health approaches at St Christopher's & UCL.

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