Faith leaders join Farleigh Hospice to discuss end of life care

Earlier this month, we invited local religious leaders to talk about their beliefs on end of life and death at a training event for its staff and volunteers.

At Farleigh, we provide hospice care, free of charge, to people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement across mid Essex. This includes physical and emotional care to help our patients live well from their diagnosis to the end of their lives and also spiritual support for them and their loved ones.

Our spiritual care team is led by Susanna Offor. She explained, “Farleigh Hospice is here to care for everyone who needs us - people of all faiths and those with none. At end of life, we work closely with our care teams to give our patients the care that is right for them, respecting any faith or beliefs that they may have. We are also here for their families to listen and offer support at this difficult time.”

As part of this commitment to provide local, personalised care that is accessible to everyone, we organised a ‘Faith at the end of life’ learning event for staff and volunteers on 7 September.

Susanna was joined by leaders from the local Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faith communities. They included Dr Imranali Panjwani (Senior Lecturer in Law at Anglia Ruskin University and the Head and Founder of Diverse Legal Consultancy), Tim Leeson (Healthcare Chaplain at St Helena Hospice), Rabbi Irit Shillor (from the Harlow Jewish Community), Reverand Canon Ivor Moody (Vice Dean Canon Pastor at Chelmsford Cathedral and Chair of Essex Faith Covenant), Smita Rajesh (Councillor at Chelmsford City Council and Trustee of Chelmsford Hindu Society), Emma Carroll (mental health recovery teacher and practicing Buddhist) and Hannah Kelly (Lead Chaplain for Essex Police).

They led interactive workshops addressing three important questions:

• What matters most as we approach the end of life?
• What happens when we die?
• What is important after death and in bereavement?

58 people attended, including members of the care team from the inpatient unit at our hospice building in Chelmsford and also our hospice at home teams.

We are delighted with the feedback from these workshops. Susanna said, “My colleagues really appreciated this unique opportunity to hear about dying, death and bereavement from the perspective of faith. What we learnt today will inform the way we work and the care and support that we provide in the future. A sincere thank you to all of the local faith leaders who kindly gave up their time to be part of this important event.”

Please click here for more information on the care and support that we provide.