'I'm going to die, not pass away'

The focus for this year's Hospice UK Dying Matters Awareness Week (May 6-12) is how we talk about death and dying. Senior palliative care nurse Cathryn Goodchild, lead clinical educator at St Luke's Hospice Plymouth, asks why people shy away from the "D" words and explains why correct language matters

THE terms “passed away” and “passing” are increasingly heard and seen, not only in daily conversation, but in broadcast news reports, television announcements and discussions, as well as in newspapers, online social media and tribute pages.

As a passionate advocate for using the correct words when talking about death and dying, I’m interested in how and why these euphemisms are starting to dominate our everyday language.

At St Luke’s, our ethos is to always be thoughtful and compassionate, but also open and clear when talking about death with the people we are looking after and their families.

As health professionals and end-of-life specialists, we can’t shy away from difficult conversations or words that are accurate and honest.

When we say that someone is dying or has died, we remove ambiguity, allowing everyone to understand what is being said and to begin processing what it means for them.

The use of “passing” or “passed away” is not new. Apparently, it can be traced back to 15th century England, when it was coined to describe the physical departing of a dead person’s soul, which was thought to happen after the funeral ritual had taken place.