Bereavement care: relationships between the intensive care unit and the general practitioner.
This study examines relationships between an intensive care unit and the general practitioners within a local health authority in respect of bereavement care. A questionnaire to all 113 local general practitioners generated a response from 67 (59.3%). While about two-fifths of respondents reported at least one of their patients dying on the intensive care unit, half said that they were often first informed by relatives. Although four-fifths of inner city general practitioners offered some form of bereavement service, it ranked lowest in terms of priority on time, and a further one-seventh provided no service at all. Half the respondents thought that hospital staff could do more to help. The implications for practice are discussed.
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H
Peters
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D
Lewin
D001601:Bereavement; D003422:Critical Care; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005194:Family Practice; D006292:Health Priorities; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D012657:Self-Help Groups