Marie Curie praises end of life storyline in Call the Midwife finale

Marie Curie has praised the makers of Call the Midwife for sensitively tackling the subject of end of life care in a moving storyline concerning Miranda Hart’s much loved character, Chummy, and her mother Lady Browne.

In a series that normally focuses on the beginning of life, the storyline explores issues around the importance of closure and the healing of damaged relationships when someone is dying.

In a dramatic series three finale, we learn that Nurse Jenny Lee, inspired by caring for Chummy’s mother, is leaving Nonnatus House to become a Marie Curie Nurse.

Writer and Executive Producer, Heidi Thomas, wrote the episode for reasons very close to her heart. Heidi said: "I first witnessed the miraculous power of a good death when someone very close to me passed away in a Marie Curie hospice. Bereavement will always hurt, but letting a loved one go with tenderness and care can be immensely healing for all involved. The end of life is as important as its' beginning, which is why we decided to tackle this supremely emotional topic in Call the Midwife.

“Lady Browne is a fictional character, but we wept on set during filming - I think there was a sense that we were each of us quietly grieving for someone we had known and lost. Death touches us all, just as birth does. I am so glad we went on this journey with Chummy and her family, and deeply grateful to organisations such as Marie Curie, who do so much to support and guide people through this defining chapter of their lives."

Former midwife and Marie Curie Nurse, Ann Brady, said: “Like Nurse Jenny Lee, my career has moved right from the start to the finish of life’s journey.

“Life and death happen to us all. On the one hand there is the excitement of preparing for a baby being born and joining a family and on the other, preparing for the time when someone is going to leave a family.

“A good death is only possible if patients and families have access to specialist palliative care and good pain control at home around the clock.”

The Call the Midwife series conclusion comes as Marie Curie publishes a new report on the experiences of terminally ill people, their families, carers and bereaved carers.  The report – ‘Difficult Conversations with Dying People and their Families  ’¹ – also draws attention to the issues surrounding around the clock care and the practical and emotional challenges that terminally ill people and their families face getting the support they need.  At the same time, a new survey commissioned by Marie Curie with Doctors.net.uk², shows that terminally ill people are not getting access to the right care when they need. The survey, which reflects the views of 1,000 GPs across the UK, reveals that a third of GPs do not believe their terminally ill patients get adequate access to specialist palliative care nursing and only 39% of GPs believe their terminally ill patients get adequate access to care at night and at weekends.

Imelda Redmond CBE, Director of Policy & Public Affairs at Marie Curie, said: “Everyone is telling us – from GPs, families and carers – that more needs to be done to improve access to specialist palliative care and pain control at home.

“We know that effective pain management at home is an important factor that influences whether someone has a 'good death', and we only have one chance to get it right. Terminally ill people and their families need timely access to care and pain relief around the clock, no matter where they live in the country.”
 
ENDS

References

^{1. ‘Difficult Conversations with Dying People and their Families’- Report, March 2014↩}

^{2. The survey was commissioned by Marie Curie with Doctors.net.uk (DNUK) and conducted by DNUK’s research division medeConnect Healthcare Insight. Respondents were recruited from the Doctors.net.uk membership. Responses were collected from 1003 regionally representative GPs in the UK. The survey fieldwork was conducted over the period 22-28 January 2014.↩}