Care after death

Last Offices

• Care after Death guideline for verification and certification of death and last office – please see the End of Life Care Policy
• Last offices for Infected Bodies guideline (TBC)
• Last offices Nursing Form (for illustration purposes only – must be completed on EPR)

Contacting the Funeral Director

Bereavement information for families

Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD)

Please refer to the End of Life Care policy.

Pastoral care at the time of death

How to use the Pastoral guide at time of death – a guide for staff on the ward box information

Spiritual, religious and cultural

Bereavement in different cultures

For advice on different cultures and their understanding of death, please see this RHN resource on bereavement.

Guide for Spiritual Religious Awareness

People in Britain come from many different religious and cultural traditions and those traditions are rich with comfort and help for people in their last days.

A series of guidelines are available to advise those who are caring for the dying patient. The guidelines are available on Groups Drive under L:/Chaplaincy/Reference Documents. A simple summary of the guidelines is available in the “Pastoral Care At The Time Of Death” box.

It is important to recognise that individuals may have different preferences, than those in the guidelines, regardless of their religion / culture. Wherever possible, the views of the individual, their family or faith minister should be sought.

It is also important to recognise that many people have no religious / cultural tradition and they and their families may have difficulty in knowing how to respond in the last days as there is no obvious ritual for them to follow.

For further advice, please contact a member of the chaplaincy team. The team aims to respond to religious and non-religious spiritual needs of all who seek its help. Contact details for the chaplaincy team is available on main and ward noticeboards.

A laminated card is available in the “Pastoral Care At The Time of Death” box, which contains wording that can be read to a patient at the end of life by a member of staff, if no chaplain or faith minister is available. This is for the three main religions represented amongst the patients. This is also available on Groups Drive at L:/Chaplaincy/Reference Documents.