When someone is dying, what they need isn’t just pain relief or a hospital bed, it’s human connection, understanding, and a sense of belonging. That’s the starting point for this wide-ranging conversation with Professor Allan Kellehear, a sociologist and founder of the Compassionate Communities movement. 

In the latest episode of The Life and Death Podcast, Allan speaks with host Stephen Rumford about why dying well is everyone’s business, not just the responsibility of doctors, nurses or hospices. From rethinking palliative care as a public health issue to recognising the social needs of dying people, this episode is a call to care more widely and more bravely. 

What is a compassionate community?   

The Compassionate Communities movement is built on a simple idea: that dying, death and grief aren’t just medical events, they’re social ones. Allan explains how this approach encourages whole communities to get involved in supporting people at the end of life. 

That could mean employers offering better bereavement leave, neighbours checking in when someone is ill, or local councils weaving end of life into their health plans. It’s about rethinking what care looks like, and who is responsible for it. 

“This isn’t about making everyone a counsellor. It’s about saying: you’re part of this too.” 

Allan is clear that specialist palliative care plays a vital role. But for many people, clinical care is just one part of what matters at the end of life. People also need friendship, connection, meaning, things that can’t be prescribed but make a real difference. 

“The number one need of dying people is usually the same: not to be abandoned.” 

Seeing death differently   

Allan also shares insights from his book Visitors at the End of Life, which explores how people nearing death often describe seeing or sensing people who have died before them. Far from being rare, these kinds of experiences are common, and deeply meaningful to the person going through them. 

“A third of dying people report these experiences. And bereaved people? As high as 80% in some countries.” 

He explains that these moments aren’t always dramatic or religious. Sometimes they’re quiet and private, a sense of presence, a vision of a familiar face, a message that brings comfort. But they can be powerful, offering reassurance or a feeling of being accompanied. 

Importantly, Allan avoids trying to explain them away. Instead, he encourages people, especially those working in care, to honour what these experiences mean to the person. 

“This is about presence. Witnessing. Not judging. And never dismissing.” 

A future of choice and compassion   

Towards the end of the conversation, Allan reflects on how society tends to focus heavily on the start of life, offering choice and support in everything from fertility to parenting. He asks: why don’t we offer the same at the end? 

“We need an end of life care system worthy of our democracy, with options, with dignity, and with room to change your mind.” 

For Allan, that means a future where end of life care isn’t seen as niche, but as something central to how we care for one another. It means workplaces, schools, councils and communities stepping in, not to replace professional care, but to surround it with human support. 

Listen Now: Why end of life care needs to change with Professor Allan Kellehear. Tune in wherever you get your podcasts, or on our website.

Find out more about Compassionate Communities.