In May 2017, a Directors Letter from the Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) [DL(2017)9] signalled a change in policy so that any trained Health Care Professional could confirm death in all circumstances. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have been leading on this with resources being developed over the last few months.
NHSGGC confirm any trained Registered Health Care Professional can confirm death in any circumstance. Medical Certification of Cause of Death (MCCD) remains the responsibility of medical staff.
Mandatory Resources
If printing the recording template, please print and complete two forms for each patient. The first form should be sent to the Medical Practitioner completing the Medication Certificate of Confirmation of Death (MCCD). In the community send to the GP practice clinical mailbox and in Acute care to the patient’s medical team. The second form should be marked ‘copy’ and left for the Funeral Director – in acute settings, file in notes.
Duplicate forms are now available – PECOS code GGC0263
Learnpro
The Module GGC: 237 Confirmation of Death can be found under the Role Specific Mandatory category.
- How to add a module to your LearnPro account Word 291 KB
NHS Employees
- https://community.learnprouk.com
Alternatively, for those who do not have any access to LearnPro follow instructions in Word Doc linked below:
Once you’ve setup a Free Moodle account & logged in, go to:
Course Categories > Care Homes > Confirmation of Death
Then enrol using password covid19 (lower case).
NHS Education for Scotland
The Demonstration of the Confirmation of Death in Scotland video can be found here, along the Guidance and Guidance and supporting resources for Practitioners undertaking Confirmation of Death procedure in Scotland.
TURAS Learn – Confirmation of Death
Information and education resources relating to the ability of registered professionals to confirm when someone has died and to establish that there are no signs of life and that resuscitation attempts would be futile.
Includes updated videos without COVID guidance and new Prison Healthcare information.
Further Information and Additional Resources
TURAS Learn COVID-19 – Death and bereavement (Includes Video Demonstration of the Confirmation of Death procedure in Scotland)
NHSGGC Bereavement Resources (Includes ‘What can happen when Someone is dying…’ & ‘When Someone has Died…’ Booklets ordering and local distribution)
NHSGGC StaffNet MCCD (Information and resources on Certification of Death for Medical Practitioners and other Health Care Professionals)
NHSGGC Bereavement Services – Certification of Death (for the public)
Registry Offices in Greater Glasgow and Clyde area (with Postal Address)
Confirmation of Death Resources Development Group
- Karen Jarvis, Chief Nurse, Renfrewshire HSCP
- Mark Cooper, Consultant Nurse – Advanced Practice, NHSGGC
- Shirley Byron, Macmillan Nurse Facilitator, NHSGGC Primary Care Palliative Care team
- Ann Silver, Macmillan Nurse Facilitator, NHSGGC Primary Care Palliative Care team
- Mairi Armstrong, Macmillan Nurse Facilitator, NHSGGC Primary Care Palliative Care team
- Claire O’Neill, Lead Nurse Palliative Care, NHSGGC
Contact the Primary Care Palliative Care team (palliativecare@ggc.scot.nhs.uk) if you need any further support around Confirmation of Death.
For any IT issues with opening documents or following links, email info@palliativecareggc.org.uk
