Our Dying to Talk About Death conference set out to break the silence surrounding the taboo subject of death and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

Attendees included our members, the public, other third sector colleagues and colleagues from across the whole health and social care sphere, who were presented with a series of engaging and informative speakers from a variety of professions. Despite having diverse professional backgrounds, the common theme for all speakers was to break down barriers, dispel myths and normalise discussions about end-of-life matters.

The conference was specifically designed to empower attendees with practical and applicable knowledge. Here are some snippets of feedback from delegates on the day.

 - “A sensitive and balanced panel of speakers.”

- “Very interesting and informative.”

- “I found all the speakers of interest am much of their sensible and directly applicable advice will prove to be of benefit to our members and will enhance my practice.”

- “All of the speakers were all great, thank you.”

- “Thank you for a very informative and relevant conference about a crucially important aspect of care.”

- “I can’t say I was looking forward to the topic, but it was enlightening in so many ways.”

We wanted to create an environment where the often-avoided topic of death was discussed in an open, frank and practical manner. We believe we achieved this ambition and were delighted we had so many attend.

The conference was a success due to planning by the Sight Matters team who were able to secure quality speakers from different areas. We sincerely thank all of them for their time and professional expertise and know from some attendees what they learnt has already been put into practice. We very much hope that this event will help start what may be a difficult conversation and indicate a powerful shift in societal perceptions and readiness to confront this crucial topic. 

After all, we don’t want dying to be the time to talk about death.