In search of a good death: Spiritual care of dying patients needs to  be well prepared

doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7408.224-c

BMJ 2003;327:224 (26 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7408.224-c

Letter

In search of a good death

Spiritual care of dying patients needs to be well prepared

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—We were glad that Ellershaw and Ward emphasisedthe importance of spiritual care in assuring a good death—anarea of care that, we believe, is usually overlooked.¹

Native Death Dance, Alice Springs,circa 1920, photo by Sir John Newlands

Credit: NATIONAL LIBRARYOF AUSTRALIA

The results of our local survey of the views of elderly patientswith mental health problems and their carers on spiritual carewere in keeping with the above idea.

Moreover, they indicated that this type of care should be consideredand provided sooner rather than later. Unlike physical care,spiritual care needs a lot of preparatory work for proper assessmentand for the relevant needs to be tailored to suit individualpatients in the context of their religious and cultural background.

Patients emphasised that spiritual care becomes more relevantas one approaches the end. One patient said: "As you are approachingdeath, you need . . . [Full text of this article]

George El-Nimr, specialist registrar in psychiatry

Harplands Hospital, Hilton Road, Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire ST4 6TH georgelnimr@yahoo.com

Laura Green, specialist registrar in psychiatry, Emad Salib, consultant psychiatrist

Hollins Park Hospital, Winwick, Warrington WA2 8WA

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

StumbleUpon Add to Technorati

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

Care of the dying patient: the last hours or days of life • Commentary: a "good death" is possible in the NHS: John Ellershaw, Chris Ward, and Rabbi Julia Neuberger
BMJ 2003 326: 30-34. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]