Marie Curie launches roadshow campaign in Cardiff

An exhibition trailer, specially designed for Marie Curie to represent the comfort and familiarity of home, will be the focal point of the charity’s nationwide tour through Wales to promote the Supporting the Choice to Die at Home campaign.

People in Cardiff are encouraged to visit the trailer to chat with Marie Curie nurses and gain more information about the campaign and the services provided by Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Amongst the visitors to the roadshow will be local Assembly Members, who have pledged their support to the campaign and will be urging their party to look into the possibility of further funding to enable terminally ill patients in Wales to have the choice to die at home.

Caring Services Manager for Wales, Nicola Rabjohns, said: “The main reason for patients not achieving their choice to die at home is that support services, in the broadest sense, are not made readily available to people. Issues such as lack of co-ordination, inflexibility to deploy services at short notice, and family and carer exhaustion are also contributors.

“The Wales Supporting the Choice to Die at Home campaign aims to increase the number of people who achieve that choice by tackling the barriers that prevent people from dying at home, ensuring resources are available to enable people to achieve the choice, and making information available to help people choose where they would like to die.”

The issue about choice of end of life care is becoming increasingly important as highlighted by research commissioned by Marie Curie Cancer Care.

This showed that 67 per cent of people in Wales would want to be cared for at home if they had a terminal illness. Yet, half of all cancer patients die in hospital, with only 25 percent achieving their goal to die at home.

Local Nursing Team Manager Allen Bryant said: “The home nursing service that Marie Curie provides to patients and their families is invaluable, and make a real difference in what can be a particularly stressful and difficult time.

"For patients with a terminal illness, remaining in the comfort and familiarity of their own home is a real comfort and helps them to achieve the best possible quality of life. Our team of dedicated nurses also provide both the practical and emotional support to families and carers helping make the choice to die at home a reality.”

The Marie Curie roadshow will visit the following town centres during the tour:

• Cardiff June 20 (Queen Street, outside Capitol Centre, 10-3 pm)
• Newport June 23 (Commercial Street, outside Austin Friars, 10 – 3 pm)
• Swansea June 27 (Oxford Street, between Topshop & M&S, 10 – 3 pm)
• Llanelli June 30 (St Eilli Centre, 10 – 3 pm)
• Wrexham July 4 (Queen’s Square, 10 – 3 pm)
• Llandudno July 7 (Mostyn Street, outside M&S, 10 – 3 pm)
• Aberystwyth July 11 (Owain Gwyndor, 10 – 3 pm)

Download the English language version of the campaign leaflet (pdf, 734KB)

Download the Welsh language version of the campaign leaflet (pdf, 337KB)

Download the English language version of the campaign postcard (pdf, 4MB)

Download the Welsh language version of the campaign postcard (pdf, 237KB)

Notes to Editors:

• Marie Curie Cancer Care provides high quality nursing, totally free, to give terminally ill people the choice of dying at home, supported by their families.
• Marie Curie Cancer Care is taking the lead in end of life care and believes every terminally ill patient should have the choice to be cared for in the comfortable and familiar surroundings of their own home
• Since June 2006, the charity has been campaigning to improve end of life care provision in Wales through the Supporting the Choice to Die at Home campaign.
• Only 4 in 100 people would choose to die in hospital but this is the reality for more than half of all cancer patients
• To find out more visit www.mariecurie.org.uk