Dr Margaret McCartney explores what we need from the NHS at different stages of our lives. This week, end of life care and having a 'good death'.

It's at the end of life that we rely on the NHS the most and good communication is often the key to a good death.

Margaret visits a Death Café in Dumfries-shire where strangers come together to discuss any aspect of death over coffee and cake. Dr Naomi Richards of Glasgow University explains how the death café movement has spread around the world in reaction to the over-professionalization of talking about death.

For Margaret, caring for patients as they are dying is an enormous privilege, but that doesn't mean it's an easy part of the job. She asks fellow GP and palliative care specialist Dr Euan Paterson what he thinks patients need from doctors in their last months, weeks and days.

We have a midwife to accompany us as we bring new life into the world, so how about having a companion to support us as we leave the world? We hear from Hillary Peppiette, a solicitor who is training to become a death doula. Hilary also provides information on legal issues including writing your will and Power of Attorney.

Do Not Resuscitate documentation is also discussed with people near the end of life. Dr Dan Beckett explains the crucial difference between a cardiac arrest, which has a reversible cause, and where CPR is sometimes successful, and natural dying, when the heart stops because the body itself is dying. Talking about what kind of care and treatment we would like and what we don't want to happen can provide peace of mind for someone who is dying and their loved ones.

Throughout, Linda Tierney, who has terminal cancer, shares her experience of planning for her own death. Show less