Morbid Question

[Beechy101]

If an elderly relative died at home during the night, who would you ring?

I don't mean family, i mean doctors/hospital, etc?

The doctors will obviously be shut & it obviously won't be a 999 emergency.

[dotty.]

yes and apparently if a police officer attends a sudden death they have to go to the mortuary with the body and undress it and remove personal items ready for the coroner. My son's best mate is a police officer and has had to do this several times, usually where elderly people have been found dead at home.

[Buenchico]

You'll really pee the ambulance service off if you dial 999 when someone is definitely dead!

When I worked on the railways, fatalities on the track were fairly common. (Roughly one person per day dies on Britain's railway lines). Railway rules state that (whatever the emergency) the driver must immediately speak to the signaller, not to the 'emergency services'. If the driver reported a possible injury, the signaller would call an ambulance but if the report was (as usual) of a definite fatality, the signaller would advise British Transport Police (because all fatal incidents had to be regarded as possible crime scenes) and get his bosses (at Network Rail) to contact the on-call funeral director for that area. There would have been possible dismissals if someone called an ambulance when it was clearly pointless to do so!

If someone is blue, rigid and cold, call a funeral director and leave them to get death certified. (When I did my first aid training, I was told - both by trained nurses and qualified doctors - that the 'unofficial' rule is that you should never commence resuscitating anyone who has ceased breathing for more than four minutes. Nobody seems to want to commit that 'rule' to print but I know that it's commonly used in the medical profession).

Chris

[welshlibranr]

4get, yes those ones are the lucky ones, sadly, I've been called to ones that have died alone, and obviously trying to get help!........... they were the ones that in life were very independant and wanted no help or intervention, making them the ones at the greatest risk!.............so frustrating!..........

[4getmenot]

one fitted other day and one of our youngest carers had to deal with her first death

[Buenchico]

Welshlibranr:
I sincerely hope that I'll die alone (and preferably by my own hand). Nothing would annoy me more than to have other people around me!

[Prudie]

I'd be in such a state of nerves I'd call 999 and not bother looking aound for my surgery's number.
999 calls are answered by a trained operator who would advise on what to do next, you don't go straight through to the ambulance service.

[RATTER15]

This is not uncommon where I work, we call a GP to confirm death, if its unexpected or haven't seen a GP for 2 weeks then Police will often attend to examine the body, there will also usually be a P.M. under these circumstances. Also if it an unexpected death we would not touch the body, last office would not be carried out until the police have been and only then if authorised to do so.

[welshlibranr]

Your choice Chris, sad for the person that has to find you though!...........I have done this seveeral times!...........it's no picnic I can assure you!......

[4getmenot]

yep thats usually what our carers do ratter but if out of hours they call paramedics

[TonyV]

I can only speak from personal experience - not medically or procedually qualified - but I was holding my Dad's hand when he took his last breath - my brother was holding the other one - we closed his eyes. Called Locum - he certified my father had died - Police came and checked before body was moved

[welshlibranr]

TonyV, sounds right for a sudden death, at least you and your brother were with you Dad at the end!..........

[sherrardk]

Sorry Ratter - what's 'last office'?

[RATTER15]

"Last office" is the laying out of the body.

[sherrardk]

Thank you.

[Buenchico]

For Sherrardk:
http://www.cmft.nhs.u...nts/LastOfficesBD.pdf

[mrs.chappie]

Please could someone take a look at my question^^^^^^^up there on this thread, about the checks performed to confirm death?

Thanks peeps.

Chris, what do you mean by "by your own hand"?

[welshlibranr]

Mrs C, firstly a doctor has to check thoroughly for signs of life, eg. heart beat, pulse etc, and as for Chris's post, think what he means is obvious!..........'by my own hand'.................not good!..............

[Buenchico]

Mrs C:
I'm proud to be a member of PASS (Promoting and Supporting Suicide). I regard suicide as the only honourable form of death. I've known since I was a young child that it's the way I want to die. It's imply a matter of choosing when I'll do it. I know the combination of drugs which will do the job with certainty; they're in my kitchen cabinet now and I might well use them soon. I'm not depressed, I'd rather go out on a 'high' when I choose to do so. For me, suicide is always to be promoted, encouraged and (most of all) celebrated.

Er, sorry, but you did ask!

[mrs.chappie]

Thanks welsh. I just found it quite strange that the district nurses wanted me to leave the room while they "performed the checks". :o/

I think you're thinking what I'm thinking Chris means. :o(

[RATTER15]

Mrs Chappie, In my experience death is checked by the use of a stethoscope listening for a heartbeat. that was it.