We understand there are many mixed feelings and emotions when we think about the end of someone’s life.

It is likely to be a difficult time when someone close to you is dying. You may have questions about what to expect in the last days of life, and how someone important to you will be cared for. The approach the care team will use will be individual to you or your loved one. The dying process is different for every person; however, some changes are often seen that help us know a person is dying.

In this section of the website you can find out about what to expect when someone is dying including changes in breathing, consciousness, communication and eating and drinking. You will also find details regarding the services available to support you during this time.

Palliative care

End of life care during the last weeks of life

Palliative care

Our Specialist Palliative Care Team is delivered by Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for further information please see below.

Your GP’s role in managing palliative/end of life care can include but not limited to carrying out ongoing assessments of the person condition, appropriate advance care planning including prescribing of anticipatory medication and ReSPECT conversations. Also, identifying when a person may be approaching the end of their life.

Please contact your local GP practice for advice should you need it.

To contact a GP out of hours please call 111, for further informaiton visit: gloucesteroutofhours.nhs.uk/what-you-need-to-know or Get Help from 111 here: 111.nhs.uk

District Nurses can provide nursing care to people who are unable to leave their homes or residential care homes. They provide palliative care for people who are terminally ill and take care of people who are the end of their lives.

The weblink below takes you to the Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust website where it contains information on how the district nursing service works:

Sometimes its hard to know where to go to for help when day services are closed and its 3am in the morning or over a weekend. Everyone who is being cared for within the palliative care system should know who their emergency ‘go-to’ person is, but just in case they don’t the following information may be of benefit.

For Out of Hours District Nursing support in Gloucestershire you can call 0300 4210555 between 4pm and 8am and all weekend. More information can be found on the Integrated Community Teams web page (ghc.nhs.uk).

Hospice care focuses on delivering expert support to individuals with life-limiting illnesses. In Gloucestershire our Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice provides inpatient care, the other providers’ work is in the community, supporting people and their families in their own homes.

Hospices are no longer only a place where people are admitted for their last days of life; although this option still exists, modern hospices are now more focused on expert symptom management and maximising quality of life, as well as delivering other services such as bereavement support, well-being centres, outpatient clinics and therapy.

There are six hospice providers which support the people of Gloucestershire. Hospices are sometimes partially funded by the NHS, but most are charitably funded and rely on donations to fund their vital work. As the hospices are separate organisations their offers may vary. To find out more about what they can offer please visit their websites:

Together for short lives Together for Short Lives: Children’s Charities – Children Hospices

Acorns Childrens Hospice, Worcester Our hospices – Acorns Children’s Hospice

Charlton Farm, Bristol Charlton Farm | Childrens Hospice South West

Helen & Douglas House, Oxfordshire Home – Helen & Douglas House

End of life care during the last weeks of life

Control of pain and other physical symptoms, psychosocial, social and spiritual problems, is paramount for those with life-limiting ilnesses and those facing end of life care and this link explores some of these areas.

For further information on symptom management please view the following resources:

We understand there are many mixed feelings and emotions when we think about the end of someone’s life. It is likely to be a difficult time when someone close to you is dying. You may have questions about what to expect in the last days, and how someone important to you will be cared for.

The approach that the care team will use will be individual to you or your loved one. The dying process is different for every person; however, some changes are often seen that help us know when a person is dying. In this section of the website you can find out about what to expect when someone is dying including changes in breathing, consciousness, communication and eating and drinking.

Caring for someone at the end of their life

This information leaflet can be downloaded and is written for people who are caring for someone who may be approaching the end of their life. It may also be useful for the person who is being cared for to read this leaflet if they are well enough to do so. It contains some practical tips and advice about medications to help with symptom management.

For further information see resources below:

Changes in the way you register a death

 ‘The law has changed in how we issue the paperwork which allows you to register the death.  This means someone from the Medical Examiner service will need to speak to you before you can book a registration service appointment.  They will describe the wording on the certificate and try to answer any questions or concerns you might have about the death.’  Once these steps have been taken the ME will need to sign the medical certificate issued by the doctor and send it to the Registrar of Births and Deaths.

Who is a Medical Examiner and what do they do?

MEs are senior registered medical practitioners.  The Gloucestershire team contains nine consultants from a variety of clinical specialties in the hospital trust and five GPs from across the county. They are trained in the legal and clinical elements of death certification processes.

The three main components of the legal responsibilities given to the ME are: –

  • Establishing what the person died from and to ensure the wording on the MCCD reflects this for clarity and improved mortality data purposes
  • Establishing if a death needs to be reported to the coroner, if so, why?
  • Whether there are any concerns with care identified by the ME, healthcare staff or bereaved relative and to escalate these to the appropriate department/staff?

During their discussion with you someone from the Gloucestershire Medical Examiner team will support you with the practical and legal steps of registering a death.

A doctor or specialist nurse may prescribe just in case medicines for someone who is ill. These are prescribed in case the person develops symptoms in the future, so they can be given quickly. Here, we talk about what just in case medicines are, how they should be stored, and what to do if the person you look after needs more medicine.

For further information please follow this link:


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