Goals for the encounter with families of dying patients
| Goals during the encounter | Useful statements |
| Goal 1: prepare the family for the upcoming events | ‘We are doing our best to resuscitate your relative and his condition is severe’ ‘Now I will return to be part of the treating team but I will continue to update you in 10–20 min’ |
| Goal 2: convey to the family that their relative received the needed therapy | ‘Your relative received the best possible therapy and I believe that even in the leading hospitals in the world the same therapies would be used’ |
| Goal 3: help the family reach acceptance and leave the hospital accepting the death of their relative | ‘It is the end’, ‘we stopped are efforts as biology forced us to realise it is the end’, ‘we are sorry but we lost the battle’ |
| Goal 4: reduce or alleviate guilt feeling | ‘We had done everything to prevent pain’ or ‘your relative was fortunate with such a devoted family’ |
| Goal 5: help the family as a single entity and maintain their unity | ‘This kind of situation can break or unite families and I am sure that your relative’s wish was that you will unite’ |