Dealing with Death is a comprehensive and authoritative source of information for professionals on the procedures, laws and cultural customs that should be observed when someone dies. This completely updated and expanded second edition takes into account the recent changes in UK law and the impact of the Harold Shipman and Alder Hey enquiries.
Clear guidance is provided on all the legal, technical and forensic procedures surrounding death, including:
* medical certification of cause of death
* coroner's enquiries
* autopsy
* organ and tissue donation
* burial and cremation
* exhumation.
The authors give insights into a wide range of sensitive areas, such as dignified care for the dying and considerations for the bereaved, the particular issues that arise when a baby dies, and the appropriate handling of death from AIDS. Part 3 provides an overview of a wide range of cultural and religious death rites and the implications of religious beliefs on blood transfusions, terminal care and euthanasia.
This professional handbook is a key text for coroners, lawyers, police, funeral directors and clergy, as well as healthcare professionals, palliative care workers, social care professionals and students.
Preface. Acknowledgements. PART I: Legal and Technical Aspects. 1. Customs and Laws. 2. Medical Certification of Cause of Death. 3. Registration of Death. 4. Coroners and Coroner's Inquiries. 5. Fetal Loss, Stillbirth, Neonatal Death and Sudden Death in Infancy. 6. The Autopsy and Mortuary Practice. 7. Funeral Direction and Disposal by Burial. 8. Disposal by Cremation. 9. Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation. 10. The Law and Practice of Exhumation. 11. Deaths in Major Disasters. PART II: Considerations for the Living, Care of the Dying, and Death with Dignity. 12. Palliative Care. 13. Medico-legal Issues at the End of Life. 14. Last Offices. 15. Bereavement. 16. The Control of Infection in Life and in Death. PART III: Religious, Ethnic and Cultural Aspects of Dying and Death. 17. Christianity and the Sacraments. 18. The Anglican Church (The Church in Wales, the Church in Ireland, the Episcopalian Church in Scotland). 19. The Roman Catholic Church. 20. Free Churches and Other Churches. 21. Jehovah's Witnesses. 22. The Mormon Church. 23. Christian Science. 24. The African-Caribbean Community. 25. Rastafarianism. 26. The Jewish Faith. 27. Buddhism. 28. The Bahá'i Faith. 29. Islam. 30. Hinduism. 31. Sikhism. 32. Zoroastrians (Parsees). 33. The Chinese Community. 34. The Japanese Community. 35. HIV/AIDS. Appendix A. Organisations which may be able to offer help with various aspects of death. Appendix B. Sources of Advice on Forensic Pathology. Appendix C. Further Reading. Subject Index. Author Index.
