These ambitions set out a national framework for local action 2015-2020. They state that good end of life care includes bereavement and pre-bereavement care, including for those affected by deaths caused by sudden illness or trauma, including suicide. Support should be provided for bereaved children and young people as well as adults. Although the Ambitions focus on the needs of the dying person, the document states that they should also be read as ambitions for carers, families, those important to the dying person, and where appropriate for people who have been bereaved. The relevant ambitions for people facing and following bereavement are:
Ambition 1: Each person is seen as an individual
Good End of Life Care includes bereavement
Caring for the individual includes understanding the need to support their unique set of relationships with family, friends, carers, other loved ones and their community, including preparing for loss, grief and bereavement.
Ambition 2: Each person gets fair access to care
Community partnerships
Dying, death and bereavement affects everyone, so everyone must be able to get care that works for them personally, for their family and carers and for their communities. Local plans should include the development of community partnerships between different faith groups and cultural communities, as well as the diverse organisations that support children and young adults, people living with different life shortening illnesses, and those managing the difficulties of older age.
Ambition 6: Each community is prepared to help
“I live in a community where everybody recognises that we all have a role to play in supporting each other in times of crisis and loss. People are ready, willing and confident to have conversations about living and dying well and to support each other in emotional and practical ways.”
Published by: National Palliative and End of Life Care Partnership.