Hartlepool folk urged to have their say on end-of-life care

Hartlepool Borough Council’s Audit and Governance Committee Working Group will be asking when it looks at this sensitive and important topic on Thursday in the Council Chamber in Civic Centre.

Members of the public are being encouraged to attend and contribute their views and experiences from 10am to around 3pm.

The Working Group will also be looking to find answers on what works well, how can things be better, and priorities for the future.

Information will be provided by the Hartlepool & Stockton-on-Tees Clinical Commissioning Group – including on the work of the Macmillan doctors and nurses – and the North Tees & Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

The Working Group is also extremely keen to hear the views and experiences of members of the public including families, carers, care home providers and residents.

It will later report its conclusions to the Hartlepool Health and Wellbeing Board for consideration.

Councillor Ray Martin-Wells, chair of the Audit and Governance Committee, said: “Birth and – sadly - death are the two certainties in all our lives and, as part of our ongoing scrutiny of topics which are important to local people, we are keen to look at what care and support is in place for Hartlepool residents as their days draw to a close.

“Especially, we want to find out what is done to treat the person with dignity and respect as an individual, and what arrangements are in place to ensure, as much as possible, that the person is free from pain, in familiar surroundings and in the company of those who are closest to them.

“We would also like to know what arrangements and approaches work well and what could be done better, and I very much hope that local people will come along and share their views and experiences with us.”

For more information please contact Joan Stevens, the council’s scrutiny manager, on 01429 284142 or email [email protected]