A Compassionate Country – A Charter For Wales

 

 

A Compassionate Country – A Charter For Wales

 

This Charter represents a commitment by our country to embrace a view of health and wellbeing that embraces citizenship and community empathy, directly supporting its citizens to address the negative health impacts of social inequality and marginalisation attributable to dying, death, bereavement and loss. Our Compassionate Country will by use of networks and influences, by dint of collaboration and co-operation, in partnership with social media and other means develop and support the following social changes to our Country’s key institutions and activities. 

 

Our Country will:

 

• Recognise that Wales is a community of communities, rich in its diversity and will seek to develop strategies through partnership to identify and address a range of end of life care, ageing, loss and bereavement needs.

 

• Provide information and support resources for the public and professionals that builds on: self-management and well-being initiatives; schemes to tackle loneliness and isolation and developments in social prescribing already underway. 

 

• Publicise in print, social media, face to face and on line, our health and social care and local government policies, services, funding opportunities, partnerships, and public events that address ‘our compassionate concerns’ with living, with ageing, life-threatening and life-limiting illness, loss, bereavement, and long term caring. 

 

• Support our hospices and care homes to implement community development programmes involving local citizens in end of life care, loss and bereavement.

 

• Encourage our schools, colleges and universities to have policies or guidance documents in place for dying, death, loss, bereavement and care.

 

• Support our workplaces and trade unions to have policies or guidance documents in place for dying, death, loss, bereavement and care.

 

• Work with our places of worship to have dedicated groups to support those with: end of life care needs; are affected by loss or bereavement; are lonely and/or isolated and long term carers.  

 

• Support our prisons and homeless organisations to plan for end of life care and loss and bereavement.

 

• Work with our museums and art galleries to include experiences of ageing, dying, death, loss or care as part of their exhibition programmes.