Caring for the dying

Caring for the sick and dying during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic presents a unique set of challenges. We explore the symptoms of the virus and what carers can expect when accompanying loved ones during this extraordinary time.

• Caring for a loved one at home during Covid-19
• What are the symptoms of Covid-19?
• Understanding the natural process of dying during Covid-19

Dying is a natural part of life, and it's important to be open and honest about it. But it's also about choosing the right time to talk. Each person, patient or carer, should have information given at the time and in the detail when it seems right for them.

• Helping people to talk
• Dying in a caring context
• Hospital chaplaincy during the coronavirus pandemic

Caring for the dying is about more than physical care, it's also about looking out for and addressing spiritual needs. Being a caregiver involves becoming aware of the complex needs of those who are dying, and of those who have been bereaved.

• Being a carer - Greg Wise
• Providing holistic care
• Helping the bereaved
• Emotions in a caring context
• Advance care planning

Being by the bedside of someone you love who is dying isn't easy. To help a little we have drawn on the wisdom and experience of those who have done it before. We have taken advice from leading palliative care consultants, nurses, chaplains, friends and relatives.

• Deathbed etiquette
• Deathbed etiquette and the coronavirus (Covid-19)
• Catholic rituals for the dying
• Islamic death rituals
• Jewish rituals for death and dying