Looking after stroke patients who are dying can be upsetting for staff, particularly when they have got to know the patient and family very well or when it triggers staff’s own personal memories of death and bereavement.
Some deaths may be more difficult than others, for example
- Very young patients
- Very sudden death, or a very prolonged death taking longer than anticipated
- Death as a result of medical treatment (even if family and patients are aware of the known risks of treatment e.g. fatal bleeding due to thrombolysis, major gastrointestinal bleed following anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation)
- When a death occurs during a medical procedure such as suctioning the chest
It is important to acknowledge this and seek help – informally from your peers or line manager in the first instance and consider more formal types of support e.g. Counselling or discussing with chaplaincy services.
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Page last reviewed: 16 Jan 2023
