‘Dying to Know’ events
“My mum experienced palliative care both at home and in a hospice environment, and also in hospital, so I had a taste of what was available,” Coburn said.
Waverley Council partnered with South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, UNSW Kingsford Legal Centre, Life Rite Funerals and Metropolitan Memorial Parks to deliver an educational event so people can plan for the future.
An event on “Dying to Know: Planning for the Future” took place in Bondi recently, with experts who spoke about legal considerations, advance care planning, palliative care, grief literacy, holistic funerals and options for burials, cremations and memorialisation. Executive leadership coach and former lawyer Yvonne Coburn, who spoke at the event, was recently appointed national champion of Palliative Care Australia, working to raise awareness about palliative care and the importance of future planning.
Coburn has also worked as a councillor on Waverley Council, and served on a number of not-for-profit boards.
Reflecting on the sold-out Bondi event, Coburn said the evening was “incredibly helpful” to everyone in attendance. “So many different aspects of death and dying and palliative care, from legal, to health, to personal and lived experience [were presented] … it was incredibly moving to see how many people were really touched by this.”
“More importantly, so many aspects of palliative care were demystified, and people really understood that palliative care doesn’t just mean ‘end of life’ care … there are all sorts of possibilities in terms of care even a few years before one passes.”
After experiencing helping family members and close friends with their palliative care needs, Coburn was exposed to the complexity of the issues that arise in the last stages of life for everyone and the services that everyone will need.
She has worked to involve local councils in facilitating events around Dying to Know Day, an annual campaign organised by CCNB Community Care Services, that empowers all adult Australians to be strong self-advocates for their own personal planning when it comes to their future.
“My mum experienced palliative care both at home and in a hospice environment, and also in hospital, so I had a taste of what was available,” Coburn said.
“She died six weeks after diagnosis, so there wasn’t a lot of time for me to really understand because I was managing it all, and I realised that for people who don’t have the wherewithal to ask questions, or who don’t have a law degree to understand all the issues involved, it can be a minefield.”
This motivated Coburn to find ways to educate the public on how best to manage those challenges, becoming instrumental in gaining local council support for improving understanding of these issues.
“I made a promise that if I could do something to help support the system … I would.”
The “Dying to Know: Planning for the Future” Randwick event is on Tuesday, August 22.
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