More dialogue needed over End of Life Support

EDEN CARE held its first national conference on Thursday, 23rd February at the London Muslim Centre. The theme was “End of Life Support and Burial – An Islamic Perspective”. Aimed at creating greater awareness about best practices related to End of Life Support and burial within the Muslim and BME communities, the conference was attended by approximately 200 delegates from different backgrounds. 

The conference called for more engagement by mainstream services and the NHS with the Bangladeshi Muslim community. In his keynote address, prominent British scholar Shaykh Shafiur Rahman said, “Eden Care is addressing a very critical community issue which impacts everyone at one stage or another.”

Dr Margaret Clifford, Consultant in Palliative Medicine, congratulated Eden Care for convening “a successful event” where there was “fantastic enthusiasm in the room”. Peter Ellis, Chief Executive of Richard House Children’s Hospice, said he was very encouraged by the conference because Richard House and St Joseph’s had held a similar event previously at the London Muslim Centre and that it was “good to see that this effort of engagement is now continuing.”

Shaykh Abdul-Qayyum, Imam of East London Mosque, highlighted the importance of visiting the sick and supporting the needy. He added that Eden Care was “providing a very important service. I have made referrals to them and have found the charity very committed and professional.”

Anika Sadeque, Eden Care Adminstrator, pointed out that the number of Muslims, aged 65 and over is increasing steadily and is expected to reach 250,000 before 2030. More people will need End of Life services. “Through Eden Care,” she said, “we are trying respond to this by becoming a point of contact for the terminally ill, people reaching [the point where they need] End of Life help and anyone struggling with burials.”

•For more information, go to:
www.edencareuk.com

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