The Dying Patient Resources

• In this video Associate Professor Amanda Walker describes the importance of recognising the signs of deterioration and dying and discussing these with patients and families
• The End-of-life Essentials module Imminent Death gives practical guidance to help you feel confident in providing care to people who are actively dying and conducting sensitive conversations
• For practical guidance, read the Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines – Care in the last days of life
• The Marie Curie (UK) website has practice guidance on care in the last days or hours of life
• palliAGED Modules for Aged Care can be a useful introduction to
  • Recognising deterioration
  • Care pathways
• Use the guidance in the palliAGEDnurse app
• This articles from Canadian Virtual Hospice discusses Final weeks and days: What to expect (for patients, families, and carers)
• Share with families and carers the CarerHelp resources including
  • Recognising Dying fact sheet
  • the video of Dr Mark Boughey talking about the dying process
• The Marie Curie (UK) website has information on What happens in the last weeks of life (for patients, families and carers)
• The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network has published an information booklet for families Understanding the dying process (pdf).

• For practical guidance, read the Scottish Palliative Care Guidelines – Care in the last days of life
• The Clinical Excellence Commission Last Days of Life Toolkit offers guidance and charts to enable recognising dying; management planning; and care after death of adults in hospitals
• Use the palliAGED guidance
  • Terminal Care – Improving Care
  • Symptom Management
  • palliAGEDnurse app
• palliAGED Modules for Aged Care can be a useful introduction to
  • Recognising deterioration
  • Care pathways
• The caring@home National Core Community Palliative Care Medicines List can guide GPs, nurse practitioners and other prescribers with their care of their home-based palliative patients in the terminal phase with urgent symptom relief.
• The Residential Aged Care End of Life Care Pathway (RAC EoLCP) is a care plan that guides the provision of good quality end-of-life (terminal) care in residential aged care
• ELDAC has two videos to help with
  • Managing Dying – Residential Aged Care
  • Managing Dying – Home Care
• The Dying Patient pages in the GP section in CareSearch and Symptom management pages in palliAGED outline specific guidance based on best practice evidence.
• Queensland Health, Clinical Excellence Queensland Care Plan for the Dying Person – Health Professional Guidelines February 2019 (pdf) provide information and clinical resources for improving care at the end of life.
• Gold Standards Framework (UK) provides an evidence-based approach to optimising care for people nearing the end of life. They take a grass-roots approach to change by putting policy into practice
• CarerHelp host resources specific to When a person is dying (for patients, families and carers)
• The Marie Curie (UK) website has information on Final moments of life (for patients, families and carers)
• This articles from Canadian Virtual Hospice discusses Final weeks and days: What to expect (for patients, families, and carers)
• The WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network has published an information booklet for families Understanding the dying process (pdf)
• Dying Matters (UK) offers practical advice and resources on how to tell somebody that a loved one is dying, or has died (for patients, families, and carers)

• Care Plan for the Dying Person – Health Professional Guidelines February 2019 (pdf) contains information particularly for generalist and novice clinicians on best practice care for people in the last days and hours of life
• Residential Aged Care End of Life Care Pathway (RAC EoLCP) guides the provision of good quality end-of-life (terminal) care in residential aged care
• Gold Standards Framework (UK) provides an evidence-based approach to optimising care for people nearing the end of life

• Services Australia website has information on what to do when someone dies. This can guide you in the tasks that follow such as registering the death and finalising an estate.
• The Better Health Channel website has information on what to do after someone dies. A fact sheet that covers practical things such as funerals, where to get help and dealing with grief.
• The NSW Government has an information sheet for Nurses on verification of death (pdf) that outlines roles and responsibilities.
• To understand more about the procedure of a post mortem visit the SA coroner’s office website for consumers on Post Mortems.
• Visit the CareSearch website section ‘At the End‘ for information suitable for patients and carers.
• The Palliative Care Australia website has a leaflet on The dying process that explains the changes that you may notice and the signs to look for that death has occurred.

Care of the body

• Here you will find Information from the SA coroner’s office website for consumers on Post Mortems.
• The Australian Museum provide information on Preparing a body for disposal.
• The QLD Government provide a document: Sad news, sorry business – Guidelines for caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through death and dying (518kb pdf). This provides cultural insight and tools for providing culturally and clinically responsive care.
• The booklet During sad news and sorry business – information for family (pdf) provides information and practical things to do before and after someone passes away.
• From the Agency for Clinical Innovation, Listen to Dr Jane Mowll in this video as she talks about viewing the body after death.

Religious and cultural considerations

• Palliative Care Victoria have prepared Culturally Responsive Palliative care – a resource providing background information about ten communities, their cultural perspectives and values.
• From the QLD Government a document: Sad news, sorry business – Guidelines for caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through death and dying (1.02MB pdf). This provides cultural insight and tools for providing culturally and clinically responsive care.
• To view practice guidelines for culturally sensitive palliative care visit the Centre of Cultural Diversity and Aging website.
• To understand different religious beliefs and rituals the Loddon Mallee Regional Palliative care Consortium (Vic) provide a document: An outline of different cultural beliefs at the time of death 2011 (pdf).

Tissue donation

• To learn how to register for organ donation, visit Australian Organ Donor Register.
• Details can also be found on the DonateLife website, an Australian Government initiative to encourage registration.
• The ABC website has information on Donating your body to science for medical students to study.
• The Palliative Care Network of Wisconsin offers Fast Facts and Concepts #79 centres around Discussing organ donation with families.