Informing relatives that a loved one has died is an understandably stressful situation for all practitioners, whatever their level of experience. The following guidelines may be helpful.
Before the death
- Record the name and contact telephone number of a person to be contacted in the event of a patient’s deterioration. Do not assume that this will be the same as the next of kin. Consider recording two names to ensure that the name of an additional contact is known should the first be unavailable.
- Record the person’s full name, not simply their surname – there may be people in the same house with the same surname.
- Clarify when this person might not wish to be contacted. For example, do they wish to be contacted during the night? If not, ascertain the time after which they do not wish to be contacted and if there is anyone else who should be
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