This Dying Matters Week Dove House are calling for local people to have difficult conversations.

Dove House are inviting the local community to join the conversation about death, dying, and grief during this year’s Dying Matters Awareness Week (5–11 May 2025).
The national campaign, led by Hospice UK, encourages open and honest discussions about end-of- life experiences. This year’s theme, The Culture of Dying Matters, delves into the diverse ways communities across the UK discuss, navigate, and commemorate death and dying, while emphasising the shared emotions that connect us all in grief and loss.
Sarah Cash, Deputy Chief Executive at the hospice, explains why Dying Matters Week is so important: “Here at Dove House we are experts in caring for adults with progressive illnesses and end of life care is a huge part of the service we provide. We are renowned for providing special care during these difficult times for patients and their families. Death and dying is part of life and our years of experience have shown us that talking about these topics throughout life, can often have a positive impact on how they are experienced. We often find that families who have had the difficult conversations earlier in their journeys can experience the end of life together differently.
We are encouraging people to use Dying Matters week to strike up a conversation and to break the taboo around these subjects. Now’s the time to think about things like what you would like in your will, what sort of funeral you would like and what your thoughts are on your future care choices.”
Kath, who has been accessing a group at Dove House “Talking about death can feel scary especially when you have a life limiting illness but after spending some time accessing one of their groups, I now feel I can go home and talk to my family about what I would like when my last days are approaching. I would have shied away from the topic before, but I want to make sure everything is sorted, and my family don’t have to wonder what I would have wanted when I can no longer share it with them.”
To find out more about Dying Matters week and why talking about dying now is so important www.dovehouse.org.uk/dyingmatters