The Birmingham Hospice worked alongside a group of 12 local South Asian ladies, to explore the themes and topics that were regarded as being important for this community, to ensure that they could age well and have a positive end of life experience. The first stage of the project was delivered in four workshops, using the methodology of No Barriers Here (nobarriershere.org) to creatively explore and capture themes that were viewed as being important. Information sharing and discussions also enabled the hospice to develop the participants’ awareness of choices they had about planning for their end of life, and also the services within the city that could support them as they approached older age. The topics discussed in the four workshops were themed around the following areas:

• Talking to friends, family and a GP about ageing and dying well.

• Planning for future care at older age.

• The financial and practical considerations that should be taken into account at older age.

• How to get friends and family support at older age.

The Birmingham Hospice worked in partnership with the Birmingham Ikon Gallery and the group of South Asian ladies on the second stage of the project, co-designing a photographic collection of images capturing key elements of ageing well and dying well that were identified in the workshops. The images were then displayed in a public exhibition in the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham. The exhibition was used as a tool for encouraging the wider community to engage in conversations about end of life planning.

The study is currently in progress and evaluations are to be completed to measure if the use of this methodolgy to promote more open conversations about end of life planning is successful.