The Internet and End of Life | Episode 24

The Art of Dying Well

As we emerge into whatever version of 'normal' we end up with after the acute phase of the pandemic, some of us are seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Others, facing death or accompanying a dying loved one, may feel that light's a little further away. That's why we’re here, really, to cover the subjects that matter on this human journey.That painful lack of face-to-face contact has been discussed a lot during the pandemic – not least by us here on the pod - so we're looking at how we can maximise the positive potential of the digital world to help those who may feel that acute isolation or lack of support just when they need it the most.The Centre for the Art of Dying Well has commissioned a piece of research on the subject that has led to a report called ‘The Internet and End of Life.’ It has been produced by Demos – a thinktank that harnesses the power of data and research to help inform the social policies of tomorrow.So on this podcast we're speaking to Ciaran Cummings from Demos and our very own Maggie Doherty from the Centre for the Art of Dying Well to get the lowdown on why the report was commissioned and what we've learnt from the data.We also talk to Martin Symons from St Michael's Hospice in Hastings about how his team's using tech to bring the hospice's support services to a wider virtual community. And finally we speak to Debbi Francis who found herself in need of answers at 1 o'clock in the morning and turned to the Macmillan cancer support forums when her brother was diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia.Let's launch in...