We first worked with Dr Mannix at TEDxNewcastle where her TEDx talk – What Happens As We Die – would go onto become a global sensation racking up 1m+ views in less than a year. She joins the Bright Ideas Gathering with a brand new talk.
Cardiac arrest, the medical term for the sudden loss in heart function preventing the heart from pumping blood around the body, is one of the leading causes of death in the UK. It is a medical emergency that needs treatment within minutes to prevent death. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is vital first aid for cardiac arrest, and learning CPR is now part of the UK’s secondary school curriculum.
But what are the limits of CPR? Is it always the right treatment? And what if someone heart stops when we already know that they are dying? Are all heart-stopping moments alike? Is CPR a last chance to preserve life? Or is it an unhelpful, even brutal, interference at a moment most of us would want peace? Dr Mannix will ask us to consider what’s the right thing to do at those important, yet different, heart-stopping moments.
Kathryn Mannix ’s bio
- Dr Kathryn Mannix was a consultant in palliative care medicine for 20 years, working in hospices, patients’ own homes and a large teaching hospital.
- She took early retirement in 2016 to work for better public understanding of dying. In 2017, her first book, ‘With the End in Mind’ became an international bestseller. Her book went on to be shortlisted for the Wellcome Book Prize and was The Times ‘Thought’ Book of the Year.
- Her second book, ‘Listen’, covered tender communication and was published to critical acclaim in September 2021. Kathryn believes that by naming death, describing the process, and helping people to know what to expect, we can have honest and helpful conversations that promote better planning of end-of-life care and reduce unnecessary medical complications of dying. Her hope is that we can de-medicalise dying, and give it back to everyone as a precious time to be lived as well as possible.
