Welcome to the End-of-life and Palliative Care (EPiC) Resource Centre, a collaboration between expert research writers, clinical staff and service leads from across Katharine House Hospice.

We know that most people who visit our website are looking for information about the hospice and end-of-life and palliative care. If you've landed on this page, the chances are that you are one such person, so please browse our contents list below, click on relevant links and start exploring. We want to answer your questions, even ones you didn’t know you needed.

Throughout the Resource Centre, you will find explanatory guides, downloadable PDFs and video content. Where relevant, we signpost to specialist organisations and charities, such as Age UK, Cruse Bereavement and GOV.UK, for further support.

How the EPiC Resource Centre supports you

Click on any of the red headings below and you will be taken to a collection of related articles.

1 If you’ve been diagnosed with an incurable illness

• What is an incurable illness, what to expect when someone is dying?
• Symptom management and medicine.
• Coping with change and uncertainty at the end of life and talking about dying.

2 Finding out about hospice care

• What is hospice care?
• How can I get hospice care?

3 If you're caring for someone with an incurable illness

• Looking at the needs of a carer and who can support them.
• Benefits and allowances available for carers.
• Carers rights at work.

4 Financial support

• Overview of how to pay for end-of-life care.
• Benefits and allowances, including Attendance Allowance and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
• Fast tracking and the complexities of local authority funding.

5 When planning ahead

• Planning for death, from financial planning to what to do with your digital assets.
• The issues around advance statements versus an advance decision to refuse treatment.
• Planning your own funeral, making a will and Lasting Power of Attorney.

6 What to do when someone dies

• How to care for someone after they have died.
• Organising a funeral.
• How to look after yourself when someone dies.

7 If you’ve suffered a bereavement

• The nature and emotions of grief, how to look after yourself and how to tell others.
• Grief in children and teenagers.
• Supporting a friend or relative.
• Dealing with grief and bereavement at work.

8 Information for employers

• Supporting an employee when they are ill.
• How to support a bereaved employee.
• What an employer should do when a member of staff dies.

"We are so excited about the new Resource Centre that the team at Katharine House have built. It's a phenomenal source of information for anyone who feels they might want to understand more about palliative care, either to demystify issues around death and dying, or because it has become topical for themselves or a loved one." Victoria Bradley, Clinical Lead Consultant

How we produce our information

The Resource Centre is a collaboration between expert research writers, clinical staff and service leads from across the hospice, providing practical and helpful information to support everyone who is learning to live with an end-of-life diagnosis and grief following a bereavement.

It is regularly reviewed by health and social care professionals and approved by relevant senior clinical staff members at Katharine House Hospice.

Using our information

The information in the Resource Centre is provided for the benefit and personal use of people with an incurable illness, their families and carers. It should not be considered as medical or clinical advice or used as a substitute for personalised or specific advice from a qualified medical practitioner.

In respect of legal, financial or other matters covered by this information, you should consider seeking specific professional advice about your personal circumstances from a qualified and regulated practitioner; Katharine House Hospice doesn’t provide legal, financial or investment advice or services.

While we try to ensure that this information is accurate, we do not accept any liability arising from its use. Please refer to our full terms and conditions.

 

The EPiC Resource Centre is kindly sponsored by Cleenol: working for a cleaner, safer, kinder world.