Death Cafe – Leeds

Hosted by The Patient | Carer Community and Humanities & Spiritual Health Society at the School of Medicine, University of Leeds.


Date:

May 30, 2018

Start time:

12:00 p.m. (UK)

End time:

2:00 p.m. (UK)

Address:

Worsley Building

Clarendon Way

University of Leeds

Leeds

West Yorkshire

LS2 9JT

United Kingdom

 

Free to everyone

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About this Death Cafe

5th Death Cafe

Hosted by the Patient | Carer Community (PCC) with the Humanities & Spiritual Health society (HuSH) at the School of Medicine, University of Leeds.

Much of the education of healthcare professionals involves learning how to help and manage people with their health, illness, injury, and disability. Yet, when both patients, carers, and healthcare professionals need to talk about living with terminal illness, end of life care, death and dying, then the conversation can prove more difficult or even become non-existant.

This Death Cafe brings patients, carers, student doctors and healthcare professionals together in the spirit of the Death Cafe ethos where the discussion is always led by the attendees.

As hosts we offer a warm and friendly space for everyone to broach and explore life, death and mortality, as equals.

All washed down with gallons of tea and plates stacked with cake!

As your facilitators Jools, Sonya and Philip look forward to getting the conversation going and to keeping the cake and beverages going too :)

We look forward to seeing you.


About The Patient | Carer Community and Humanities & Spiritual Health Society at the School of Medicine, University of Leeds.

The Patient | Carer Community (PCC) are a community of patients and carers who work in partnership with students, educators, and clinicians – leading the way locally and nationally in educating the medical profession.

We make a real difference by putting real stories told by the very people who have lived those stories at the heart of the curriculum.

Our aim, to ensure patients, carers and their family members everywhere will experience the best possible healthcare, now and in the future.

 

Jools Symons – Patient and Public Involvement Manager at the Medical School.

My first experience of death was when my partner died at the tender age of 36 and I was 31. During that time I tried to be everything to everyone but I couldn't sustain the Superwoman act for too long... needless to say I soon crashed and burned!

So why hadn't I experience death before? Culture dictates that we don't talk about dying, as adults we fear it and in turn we shield our children from the truth.

I'd like to wag my finger at this taboo and talk about death, laugh, cry, share, celebrate but most of all normalise those conversations... so pull up a chair and let's eat cake!

Philip Sheridan – Facilitator, Poet & Writer

Two decades professional background working with children and families around separation and loss.

Lived experience of trauma, death and acquired disability. Proud member of the Patient | Carer Community at the School of Medicine, University of Leeds. Tutor at the School of Medicine.

Feeling very privileged and honoured to co-facilitate our first Death Cafe.

 

Sonya Bushell – Medical Student, President of Humanities & Spiritual Health Society

As a farmer’s daughter, I have encountered much death within the animal kingdom. Yet death is neither regarded callously nor trivially on our farm. We try to ensure that death comes at the right time and in the right way for every animal. We attempt to honour the absence (or change) that is inherent in every being’s death.

Starting medical school, and witnessing relatives’ experiences with disease and death, has prompted me to further reflect on death and our varied reactions to it. Recognising the importance of open discussion around death, I am looking forward to this Death Café immensely.