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Irish Hospice Foundation
Toolkit for Compassionate End-of-Life Care
A consented hospital PM • Performed for medical education or research purposes. • e cause of death must be known and the need for a Coroner’s PM must have been ruled out. • Performed at the request of the medical team. • May be performed at the request of the family. • Consent is required for the examination and also for the retention of tissues/organs. • Family members can stipulate the limitations of a consented hospital PM (for example, what area of the body can/can’t be examined). Communicating with family members about PM examinations is can be a very distressing and difficult issue for families and needs to be discussed sensitively and explained thoroughly. Written information resources should be available to supplement the discussions held with family members. Family members should be given the contact details of a named person who can support the family through the whole process, and records of discussions and information given should be documented in the deceased person’s healthcare record.
Family members should be informed of the following: A Coroner’s PM: • e reason for referring the death to the Coroner. • e reason the Coroner has ordered a PM to be performed. • e involvement of An Garda Síochána in the identification process. • How and where identification of the deceased will be carried out. • Family members need to know that their consent is not required for a Coroner’s PM. • Tissues or organs may be retained after the PM for diagnostic purposes. • How the death is registered by the Coroner.
A consented hospital PM: • e reason for the request for the PM. • at consent of a nominated person (a family member or other contact person for the deceased) is required for the PM to be performed. • at the family can stipulate the extent of the examination. • at consent is required for the retention of any tissues/organs. • How the death is registered. • When the results will be available. • How the report will be available.
• When the results will be available. • How the report will be available.
In both a Coroner’s and a consented hospital PM, family members should be informed of the following: • Where the PM will take place. • How long the examination will take. • If the PM will delay the funeral. • What the examination may involve (for example, tissue samples, x-rays, clinical photographs). • How the deceased person will look after the examination and how arrangements can be made to view the deceased person. • Options regarding the return of tissues/organs to the family after the PM, including the option of the hospital disposing respectfully of the tissues/organs by cremation or burial. • Further support and information resources, including bereavement support.
Death 5
Care after
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