12/07/2025
Please don’t call 999 when your person is dying. Please don’t send them to A&E to die in a corridor.
This has happened recently, it actually happens a lot, and it’s heartbreaking. It adds so many layers to grief and our experience of losing our person.
If someone is dying at home, their death is expected, and they’re being supported by healthcare professionals, you do not need to call an ambulance when things change.
This is what dying looks like. This is what bodies do. And this is where death education comes in. This is why the conversations matter.
We panic because we don’t know what to expect. We call 999 because we’re scared. But if we can have the right conversations in advance, if we can prepare, we give our people the best chance of a peaceful, comfortable death in a place they love, surrounded by familiarity and safety.
Paramedics can’t stop death. It’s not an emergency when someone is, expectedly, at the natural end of their life. They may offer kind words or reassurance, and could give medication, but they can’t fix what’s happening.
What can help is:
💫 Knowing what to expect
💫 Having medication and support plans in place
💫 Keeping them safe, being present and being as calm as possible
We don’t need bright lights and cold hospital corridors.
We need comfort and dignity.
We need to hold a hand and stay close.
This is why death education matters. So we don’t panic, so we know it is not an emergency when things are expected.
So we don’t send our people away to die somewhere that doesn’t feel like home ❤️
