Around half of the population in the UK die in hospital and sadly a significant proportion of them die alone. The Friends of Brighton and Hove Hospitals have launched a new initiative to try and change this statistic for the better. A Friend in Need provides support to people in hospital at the end of their lives. We've funded a volunteer coordinator to manage a team of volunteers to be there for patients during their final days. Our first tranche of volunteers started visiting patients earlier this year and have already made a difference to both patients, their loved ones and the staff caring for them by lightening the load and providing some much needed relief and comfort.

As part of national Dying Matters Awareness Week we are hosting this talk at Brighton Girls to share first hand how A Friend in Need is making an amazing impact at Royal Sussex County Hospital. We'll hear from volunteer coordinator, Lou Ikiua, Ollie Minton, Consultant in Palliative Care as well as some of our volunteers, followed by a Q&A.

Dying Matters Awareness Week is an annual campaign led by Hospice UK that encourages conversations around dying, death, and bereavement. This year's theme is "The Culture of Dying Matters", which encourages communities across the UK to come together to break the stigma around death, dying and grief.