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.

[Mamyalynne]

In my case, I waited until the doctors surgery opened, then rang, but of course my husband was terminally ill.

[Purple_Popple]

You call an ambulance.

[sandyRoe]

999. An ambulance crew would confirm the death.

[Mamyalynne]

Often if you ring the surgery out of hours you are directed to an out of hours service and they may advise, nut I wanted his own doctor to declare death.

[wolf63]

I found my dad dead at home and dialled 999. The ambulance has to come to ensure that the person is either dead or take them to hospital.

The ambulance men called the police as it was a sudden death, the police called a doctor and also an undertaker.

[Mamyalynne]

Only call an ambulance if you are not sure life is extinct.

[Mamyalynne]

Sudden unexplained deaths are different I grant you.

[TonyV]

Locum will be on call or used to be to pronounce death. Local Surgery should give emergency numbers when you ring them out of hours

[welshlibranr]

quite right, you call 999, the crew of the ambulance will call a doctor, he will confirm the death, and then an undertaker will be called to remove the body!....seems a drawn out procedure, but that's how it usually works!...............

[4getmenot]

even if dead you need to ring them so paramedics can confirm death. Carers where i work come into this situation alot and even if they find a person who is so obviously dead they are 'supposed' to try and resusitate until paramedics arrive.

[mrs.chappie]

Please can anyone tell me what checks are done to confirm that someone has died?

I was with my uncle recently as he passed away. I knew he had died and so did the two district nurses who I called into the room, but they asked me to leave the room while they "carried out the necessary checks".

I imagine they'd listen for a heartbeat or a pulse, but is there anything else that they do?

(Sorry to digress here, Beechy101).

[Mamyalynne]

I am sorry if I misread the meaning of the question, I took it to be an elderly person who maybe had a terminal illness and was therefore speaking just from personal experience, sorry.

[Jemisa]

Yes Wolfy, thats what we did when an old aunt died, Ambulance crew said they cannot pronounce death it must be a doctor even if the person had been dead for a while. They called police then they called doc etc.

sad, but true.

jem

[welshlibranr]

4get, I know, shouldn't be that way!.........when life has obviously expired, no one should be expected to try to recusitate..........our rule was that if there was a sign that the demise was very recent, then we should try!............but once you start, you cannot stop until a paramedic arrives to take over, if however the demise was obviously was not recent, then we did not start at all!........good practice!.......

[4getmenot]

if you explain to 999 they sometimes send a doctors car instead of ambulance

[welshlibranr]

4get, yes they do sometimes!..........much better when this happens, cuts down the number of people needed to attend!............

[craft1948]

I'm sure I read somewhere recently that police had to wait for a doctor to pronounce someone dead, even though the person in question had been decapitated.............

[welshlibranr]

craft, that's true death has to be confirmed by a doctor!.......even when it's obvious!.....

[4getmenot]

horrible welshi, get many sad stories at work, but quite sweet ones where theyve 'fallen asleep' in armchair next to their cocoa

[mrs.chappie]

My uncle wasn't pronounced dead by a doctor.....two district nurses did it.