If you are with someone who is dying at the very end of their life, experience has shown that it can be helpful to encourage the person to let go, reassuring them that they are doing the right things and so ease their passing.
It is said that hearing is the last of the senses to fade, (but no one has been able to say for how long hearing might be receptive). Nurses routinely knock on the door and wait a moment before entering the room of a person who has died.
Once life has ceased you should call your doctor, no matter the hour. Someone will arrange to come and confirm the death, allowing them to issue you with a ‘Medical Certificate” the next day; this you will later take to the Registrar.
While you wait, you can close their eyes, and – with their dentures in – their mouth (it helps if you roll a small towel and tuck it under their chin). You can gently wipe/wash their face, even their whole body .You can brush their hair, or clean their nails if you want. Occasionally the body will purge itself of pee and even of faeces which you can leave for us -or the nurse – to deal with, or clean yourself.
All this time, keep the room as cold as possible without using a fan, so minimising air flow. This may involve keeping the windows closed. Remove any blankets or duvet to allow the body to cool down faster.
This way you can sit with the person’s body overnight or – with freezer packs wrapped and placed along the body – longer if you want. N.B. A mortuary fridge is kept at between 4 and 6 degrees, and a body should remain stable under these conditions for at least 7 – even up to 14 – days.
Remember: the body of the person who has died does not belong to the ‘authorities’ unless the death is sudden*. It belongs to you, so you decide what you want to happen – though it makes good sense to seek appropriate advice.
* In cases of sudden death the body immediately becomes the care and responsibility of the coroner.
Also see What to do first
