Care After Death: Registered Nurse Verification of Expected Adult Death guidance
Published on: 15 October 2024
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The 6th Edition of Care After Death: Registered Nurse Verification of Expected Adult Death (RNVoEAD) Guidance provides a framework for the timely verification of expected adult deaths by experienced (assessed as competent), registered nurses. Contributors include a wide range of senior healthcare professionals.
It is anticipated that local areas will develop their policies based on the guidance, but sensitised to the local area, enabling staff to care appropriately for the deceased, supporting and minimising distress for families and carers at any time of the day, night, or week. This guidance has been developed in line with the person and family centred care recommended in national documents.
This guidance ensures that the death is dealt with:
in line with the law and coroner requirements
in a timely, sensitive, and caring manner
respecting the dignity, religious and cultural needs of the patient and family members as far as is practicable
ensuring the health and safety of others, e.g. from infectious illness including COVID-19, radioactive implants, and implantable devices
A competency assessment tool accompanies this guidance for RNs to demonstrate their practical skills, knowledge and understanding for verifying an expected adult death. RNs already competent in verification of an expected adult death are not expected to repeat the competency assessment, rather to familiarise themselves with the changes within this guidance and adopt the changes into their practice.
This guidance may be used to inform training for other registered healthcare professionals who are regulated by a professional body who, under statutory regulation, are recognised by the Professional Standards Authority.
Guidance in this document includes:
A checklist of procedural actions to undertake, with rationales, following a person’s death.
Medical and Nursing responsibilities
Procedure guide
Assessment of competence
Supported by
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Hospice UK
National Nurse Consultant Group (Palliative Care)
National Association for Hospice at Home
Royal College of Nursing
Royal College of General Practitioners
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Date
Version
Reason
15 October 2024
6.1
Legislation has changed, September 2024; a medical practitioner is no longer required to have seen the deceased within 28 days.
4 April 2024
6.0
References to COVID all removed. Role of the Medical Examiner added in (applicable from April 2024). Paragraph on Non Invasive Ventilation added in.
18 April 2023
5.1
Page 10; Motor / Cerebral Response
After five minutes of continued cardio-respiratory arrest, test for the absence of motor response with the trapezius squeeze or the absence of cerebral activity with supra orbital pressure, which is considered best practice.
To ensure there are no signs of motor or cerebral activity.
Updated in October 2024 by Hospice UK and National Nurse Consultant Group (Palliative Care).
