Resources

Reflections on issues raised in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic by a retired doctor and the former Bishop of Exeter

An 80 year old friend asked Dr Elaine Sugden ( a retired consultant oncologist) a number of questions about the spread of COVID-19. She checked the latest information from various sources.

We need to ask the questions, “What happens when we die? Where do we go next?” No one else is going to ask people these questions, but they are the most important of all.

Anaesthetists are some of the doctors looking after patients of all ages in the intensive care units where constantly some are dying from the effects of Covid -19. They urge us all to imagine we are in these patient’s situation and discuss our wishes NOW so that our families are prepared to help the doctors with the difficult decisions they have to make. A Consultant Anaesthetist has written:

The COVID-19 emergency makes end of life planning essential NOW - we are all at risk

In the UK most deaths have been among those already frail from old age or chronic illness. A few were young and in apparently good health. They died in hospital, alone apart from medical staff because no visitors are allowed. After death the body is sealed, no one can view the body. No funerals are allowed, just a cremation or burial. What then can we do?

Dr Rachel Clarke, a palliative care specialist, on the BBC Today Programme on March 27 emphasised the importance of the psychological aspects of facing the end of one’s life.

The BBC reports that Palliative care doctors are urging people to have a conversation about what they would want if they, or their loved ones, became seriously unwell with coronavirus.

To add to all the other worries that a death and bereavement can bring, many people may also have very practical worries about the cost of a funeral. Like the cost of weddings the cost of funerals seems to have been inflating in recent years.

It may be that you have only heard about him in passing. But in any case, now would seem to be a good time to call on him. There is no waiting list. He is always available, free of charge. It is called praying.

This is an index to the printed copy of “Talking about Dying” and shows the range of topics covered.