“The earlier we get to know people when their life is changing, the more impact we can have…” - that’s the message from Nigel Hartley, chief executive of Isle of Wight charity, Mountbatten, the Island’s only provider of hospice care.

“Think about it now, plan for it and make sure people know,” he says, "From my 35 years of experience, illness comes unexpectedly and death comes unexpectedly.

“We think death is going to happen way into the future, and if we don’t think about it, it will never happen.”  

Nigel, who is considered a world-leader in end-of-life care, was speaking in an interview with Island Stories Podcast host Harriet Hadfield.

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The podcast, now in its second series, is produced by Alex Warren and has had more 3,500 listens since it launched last year. 

In the latest episode, he talks about changing the language we use around death, for example avoiding phrases like “We lost your mother” as it can cause confusion and adds to the embarrassment society feels tackling the subject. 

And urges people to complete an ‘Advance Care Plan’ - whatever your age - answering questions such as plans for your pets, if you’d like to be cremated or who you would like with you when you die. 

Isle of Wight County Press: Nigel Hartley, CEO Mountbatten.Nigel Hartley, CEO Mountbatten. (Image: Harriet Hadfield, Island Stories Podcast.)

On any one day, there are around 2,000 people on the Island in the care of Mountbatten, most of whom are being cared for at home, as well as in the hospice building in Newport, and at St Mary’s Hospital.  

The organisation has seen a 200 per cent increase in need since pre-covid times, and they expect that to rise another 40 per cent in the next 18 months to four years. 

In his interview, Nigel highlights how the Isle of Wight’s demographic - one in six households here are a single person aged 65-plus - make us the perfect test case in the United Kingdom.

“It’s an older population, we are an outlier in the UK, if we can get it right here, people in the UK are going to be very interested.”

“People come here to retire so we are almost 15 years ahead of the rest of the UK… What we can’t do is put our heads in the sand and ignore that. Because what’s happening here is coming to a place near you.”

Nigel grew up in North Wales and had a promising career as a concert pianist until his hand was shut in a car door. 

In the 1980s, he says the death of a close friend with AIDS inspired him to work in end-of-life care, and still drives him today. 

“Watching someone die in a way they should never have to… that’s what gets me up in the mornings still and it’s why everyone’s death touches me… that’s what drives me still.” 

On his own death, Nigel says: “I think after all these years, I’m still scared of dying, of course I am - I’m a human being - but I do think that on a good day I might be able to manage it.”

You can listen to Nigel’s podcast interview via the Mountbatten website Mountbatten.org.uk or by searching for Island Stories on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Play.