Conversations About Advance Care Planning

In this episode it is my pleasure to talk with Caro Syson, founder of Your Final Matters. If you are listening and are thinking that you need to get your ducks in a row, this episode is for you. Caro shares how she works with groups and individuals to support later life planning and the story behind her sunflower journey.

This episode has been kindly supported by the Living Well Dying Well Trust. The creation, development and content of the episode remains the responsibility of Clare Fuller.

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with youIf you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

In this episode it is my pleasure to talk with Professor Julian Abel. Julian became a consultant in palliative care in 2001 and was Vice President of Public Health Palliative Care International. He is an international keynote speaker and has published regularly on models of public health palliative care. We talk about his new work in the National End of Life Care Coalition and explore a community based approach to care and why this is so important.

This episode has been kindly supported by the Living Well Dying Well Trust. The creation, development and content of the episode remains the responsibility of Clare Fuller.

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you:If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

Get Ahead of Being Dead is Evie King's new book. In this discussion Evie shares why the book has been written and takes us on a journey through the chapters in classic Evie King style. Listen, learn…and laugh too.

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

The ReSPECT process has been widely implemented. It stands for the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment and, when used well, it provides a guide for clinicians to ensure people's wishes and values are respected in an emergency situation. Communication is at the heart of ReSPECT. In my conversation with Sharan Harris-Christensen we explore what good communication means and how this is delivered.

Resource mentioned in this episode

RealTalk: Engaging people in end of life talk - Real Talk - Real Talk

Education with Treetops Hospice: Education and development - Treetops Hospice

Treetops Hospice Education and Development | LinkedIn

ReSPECT for healthcare professionals

LinkedIn:

Sharan Harris-Christensen: Sharan Harris-Christensen - United Kingdom | Professional Profile | LinkedIn

Contact Sharan at: [email protected]

This episode was released to celebrate Dying Matters Awareness 2026

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

In this episode I talk with Dr Barny Hole, a kidney doctor and researcher, about patient preferences for kidney failure treatments. We discuss a review paper and focus specifically on the biomedical versus person-centred paradigms of nephrology practice. Our discussion has relevance to all long-term condition decision making.

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

Talking with Jorden helped me to understand how not to compartmentalise EDI. Advance Care Planning is about what matters most to a person, with identity and inclusivity at the very heart of care.

Find out more about EDI and planning ahead through the lens of patients, staff and systems in this fascinating conversation.

Resource mentioned in this episode

National Inclusion Week® | Inclusive Employers

Equality, Diversity and Human Rights Week 2025 | NHS Employers

Hiding who I am" The reality of end of life care for LGBT people

Advance Care Planning with people from South Asian Communities

It's more than rainbows in reception

Podcasts mentioned in this episode:

The Safari Concept with Dr. Christian Ntizimira

Organ Donation with Dr Radha Sundaram

No Barriers Here

Could we start planning ahead earlier? This question is asked by Dr Sonya Bushell as part of a research study and the results have implications for us all. Listen in to find out about Sonya's research, what inspired the work and how we can shift planning ahead from a medical to a societal model.

Resource mentioned in this episode

Read Sonya's research: Attitudes to earlier advance care planning: a qualitative interview study in general practice

Find out more about the Waiting Room Revolution

Access resource from Compassion in Dying

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

Communication underpins Advance Care Planning. But what is effective communication and how can it be taught? In my conversation with Sharan Harris-Christensen you will hear challenges, opportunities and the power of being vulnerable as we explore RealTalk.

Resource mentioned in this episode

• RealTalk: Engaging people in end of life talk - Real Talk - Real Talk
• Education with Treetops Hospice: Education and development - Treetops Hospice
• Treetops Hospice Education and Development | LinkedIn
• No Barriers Here
• LinkedIn: Sharan Harris-Christensen: Sharan Harris-Christensen - United Kingdom | Professional Profile | LinkedIn
• Contact Sharan at: [email protected]

This episode was released to celebrate Dying Matters Awareness 2026

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

Dr Emma Clare is a Chartered Psychologist, End of Life Doula, and founder of Death Wired Differently, a platform providing resources, information, and training on neuro-affirming approaches to death, dying, caregiving, and grief support. In our conversation, Emma shares why so many Advance Care Planning conversations just don't work for neurodivergent people. Want to know what does work? Listen in to hear things we need to learn and how to access great new resource.

Resource mentioned in this episode

Access the Death Wired Differently website

Previous podcast with Emma: Understanding death competency with Dr Emma Clare

Find out more and hear Emma talk at the 2026 ACP Day

Death Wired Differently

Understanding death competency with Dr Emma Clare

ACP Day Conference

The Lancet: A new vision for death and dying | The Lancet Commission on the Value of Death

Soul Paint enables people to express themselves when words are not enough Soul Paint

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY

In this episode it is my pleasure to learn about the first ever national Power of Attorney Day from Alison Harvie, Power of Attorney Day campaign lead. It is a super discussion - listen in to hear about the brilliant resource available and how you can be involved.

Key messages

• Alison shares her personal story of supporting her father with advanced Alzheimer's and the impact of Power of Attorney for them.

• We explore different types and names of powers of attorney across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and why "Power of Attorney Day" is a UK–wide umbrella term covering all these legal frameworks.

• The resources for organisations include posters, slide deck with speaker notes, a toolkit, social media assets and prompts to review customer journeys.

• The resources for individuals include FAQs, myth–busting (especially around "next of kin"), a conversation starter guide, and lived–experience stories.

• We discuss the importance of normalising proactive Advance Care Planning rather than waiting for crisis or loss of capacity.

• Alison closes with a great call to arms: take small, practical first steps – any action that starts you on the path to putting a Power of Attorney in place.

Resource mentioned in episode

Access Power of ATtorney Day for resource and information

Read the report Power of Attorney, why public engagement is so low and why that matters for background information

For information about Advance Care Planning, see the Advance Care Planning Explained resource on my website

Find out more about how I can work with you

If you are a team looking to provide better end of life care, or set up a one off or complete education programme in end of life care head to www.speakformelpa.co.uk where I provide details on how I can help you. You will also find information about my Lasting Power of Attorney consultancy and the talks I offer for organisations.

If you enjoy the episode or learn something new, please consider buying me a coffee to go towards making more valuable podcasts: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/6nQVJqVgLY