The Life and Death Podcast: What Does a Good Death Really Mean?

What does a good death really mean? The Life and Death podcast, brought to you by Ashgate Hospice, is a 6 part series which does not shy away from this question, and faces it straight on through honest conversations between both givers and receivers of end of life care.

Ashgate Hospice Care’s senior physiotherapist Stephan Rumford, hosts each episode and helps the listener to grasp a deeper understanding of what the experience is like from both ends of the spectrum. Ashgate Hospice is a charity that provides free specialist palliative and end of life care across North Derbyshire to patients with a life-limiting illness, and offers support to their families.

Stephen brings together Ashgate’s patients and professionals to chat about their unique relationships, hospice life, and dying well. Each episode follows a different pair and another side of hospice life.

The response to the launch was absolutely amazing. The podcast was in the Top 20 in Personal Journals and Top 100 in Society & Culture on the UK Apple Podcast Charts following the release of the first episode.

Scroll down to find out what each episode explored!

Episode 1: Stephen and Roy

“You’re on this earth to live, and the dying side sorts itself out“

Physiotherapist Stephen, and his patient Roy, explore what it means to live and die well, and what Ashgate Hospice care means to the both.

Episode 2: Sarah and Lynette

“All my patients have an incurable illness but like Lynette they are very much about living.”

Dr Sarah Parnacott and her patient Lynette, who is living with an incurable tumour, chat about their relationship, providing care for patients with complex needs, and the importance of dignified death.

Episode 3: Liz and Sarah

“I think bereavement starts before somebody has died”

Sarah, whose partner Jackie died in 2017, and her bereavement counsellor Liz, come together in episode 3 to talk about loss, coping with death, and how they have worked through Sarah’s grief together.

Episode 4: Carl and Tom

“You’ve got the fuel with what you’ve been through to be able to do it”

In Episode 4, Tom, who has been a passionate fundraiser since his Dad died in 2018, sits down with fundraising manager Carl to discuss family, loss, and the incredible cycling challenge he completed during lockdown.

Episode 5: Stephen and Barbara-Anne

“There are some people that just get under my defences”

Ashgate’s senior physiotherapist Stephen, chats with the hospice’s Chief Executive Barbara-Anne. They discuss the person behind the title, their views of life and death, and how their perspectives have been shaped by working the hospice sector.

Episode 6: Arlene and Ellie

“I learnt to let go of that guilt for feeling ok“

The final episode of podcast series invites Arlene and Ellie to discuss their personal experiences of bereavement, grieving at Christmas time, and how singing has helped their mental health.

If you’re interested in having a podcast produced for your organisation then please email podcasting@reformradio.co.uk.