The Scottish vision

Part of the vision for Scotland is that "children grow up treating dying as an inevitable part of ordinary life."

http://www.gov.scot/resource/doc/924/0105610.pdf

Yes, that is why schools are being encouraged to introduce death, dying and bereavement in the classroom.

The Strategic Framework for Action on Palliative and End of Life Care is Scotland’s direct response to the resolution passed in 2014 by the World Health Assembly – the governing body of the World Health Organisation, requiring all governments to recognise palliative care and to make provision for it in their national health policies.

The World Health Organisation is behind the policy. Who would have guessed? 

Launched by Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Sport Shona Robison MSP on December 18, 2015, it builds on many actions and policies already in place and sets out the goals, challenges and direction for future improvement...

The Framework will also work to drive a new culture of openness about death, dying and improvement:

http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Quality-Improvement-Performance/peolc/SFA

Openness about death, dying and improvement. That is a strange combination.

Providing a framework that is not overly prescriptive will enable everyone to identify the actions needed to deliver changes and improvements. These will contribute collectively to change by ensuring that everyone in Scotland – infant, child, young person or adult - no matter where they live and no matter what clinical condition(s) they have will receive care from a health and social care system that recognises when time is becoming shorter, and involves people who matter to them in the dialogue.

Notice what change and improvement actually means: to recognise when time is becoming shorter. It is a `becoming` that takes time. How much time ?

That takes us to predicting death which Professor Pullicino has said is not an exact science. We are back to the horrors of the LCP and all the other death pathways.

But worse. Each child in Scotland will have their Named Person. When time for the child is recognised as becoming shorter, will the Named Person sit with the family and be involved in the dialogue ?

That`s got to be the last straw.