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Horizon

2019

We Need to Talk about Death

Duration: 59 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC Two ScotlandLatest broadcast: on BBC Two Northern Ireland HD

In this film, Dr Kevin Fong makes a personal journey through the moral questions about death that face not just the medical profession, but each and every one of us. The question of how we die is a question that all of us must face, and yet we avoid talking about it. Modern medicine is focused on saving lives. Amazing technical advances have increased doctors' ability to treat a wide range of life-threatening diseases, meaning many more people live longer lives. Life expectancy has surged, and we regard death as something to be battled. It is common for the medical system to throw everything into treating patients right to the very end.

But in our attempts to defeat death, the question is this - are we over-medicalising death and the final years of life at the expense of providing better palliative care that would result in a better quality of life? Is it time to reset the system, and learn how to die a better death? Kevin meets medical professionals who are at the heart of these dilemmas, as well as people who are right now facing up to the question of how to die a better death. Show less

Contributors

Presenter:
Kevin Fong
Series Producer:
Rob Liddell
Executive Producer:
Steve Crabtree

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