The Designated Senior Nurse can avail of up-to-date information
and advice on the procedures required and practical guidelines
to assist them in supporting the family involved by phoning
the
'Information Hotline for Professionals'
at
087-423777
(available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
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The Designated Senior Nurse should:
- Ensure that all staff refer to the child by his/her name.
- Offer comfort and support in the crisis situation to the parents/relatives/accompanying
adults.
- Facilitate parents/relatives/adults in understanding the information
they are given by the various staff members. Be aware that people
in shock will not normally hear or understand the information given
and that it may need to be given in small amounts and repeated several
times.
- Facilitate them in understanding the procedures involved including
the necessity of a post-mortem examination.
- Arrange for contacting/transporting other family members if necessary.
- Take parents/relatives/adults to a private room, return their child
to them there as soon as possible and remain with the parents, relatives
and/or adults to offer further comfort and support for as long
as is necessary.
- Ensure that parents have as much of the time prior to the post-mortem
as they need with their child. Offer the family the opportunity to
take their child home before/after the autopsy.
- In the event of parents choosing to take the child home, advise
the Family Doctor and Public Health Nurse about this. Provide parents,
relatives or family members with written instructions regarding the
care of their child at home (Appendix C).
- Be available to parents, relatives, including children and adults,
throughout their time at the hospital and when they return there again.
- Pay special attention to the parents' wishes and communicate these
clearly to the other staff members involved in providing care to the
family.
- Discuss what clothing they would like their child to be dressed
in after the post-mortem, and find out if they wish to assist in dressing
the child.
- Following the post-mortem ensure that the child is dressed in the
manner the parents wish and that he/she is placed in a moses basket
or cot, and not left unclothed lying on a slab, adult trolley or bed.
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- Ensure that the child's body is placed in a suitable room (not the
mortuary), which is private, locked when not being used by the family,
and not accessible to the public. Ensure that parents and family members
can have access to this room as they wish.
- Ask parents if they would like a photograph taken of their child.
Every hospital should have this facility available. Explain that if
they do not wish to have the photograph now, it will be kept on file
for them, should they wish to have it at a later date.
- Ensure that hte child's clothes and personal belongings are not
thrown out. Advise the family that they are available for collection
at any time. Do not arrange to have them laundered unless parental
permission is given.
- Establish if there are siblings and what assistance the hospital
can give regarding their care. Encourage parents to include siblings
in all arrangements and to allow them to spend time with their brother/sister
(see ISIDA's booklet 'A Precious Past, A Hopeful Future' section
'Children and Grief').
- Provide parents/relatives/adults with a copy of the booklet 'A
Precious Past, A Hopeful Future' (available from ISIDA). Ask them
if they would like to speak to a SIDS parent and arrange this by phoning
ISIDA's Nationwide Support Helpline 1850 391
391.
- Offer to contact clergy, chaplain or pastoral carer if required.
- Let parents know where their child will be when they leave the hospital
and when and where they can see their child again. This should be
in a private room and not the mortuary. Ensure that the child is suitably
presented, respecting the child's and the family's dignity. If it
is not possible for the parents or family members to hold the child
at this time, gently advise parents that they can touch or kiss their
child if they so wish.
- Write down the names, phone numbers, extensions, and times the Doctor-in-Charge
and the Designated Nurse will be available. If there are delays in
carrying out the post-mortem, advise the parents of this - do not
wait for them to phone the hospital.
- Give the contact name in writing of the staff member who will meet
them when they return to the hospital. Ensure that the receptionist/porter
is aware of this arrangement.
Remember that the sudden death of an infant or young child normally
affects all who come into contact with it. If you feel that
you would like to talk to someone, ISIDA provides a confidential
Nationwide Helpline 1800 391 391
where you can contact someone who understands and is willing
to listen - you do not have to be a parent or relative.
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