You should always show respect for another person’s expressions of their faith or beliefs, even if it differs significantly from your own.
Death is more than just a physical process.
People who have experienced caring for a person who has died have noticed that something else can happen in addition to the body closing down as they approached death.
During their last weeks or days before death, people have talked about their experiences of being contacted by people and pets who have already died who have come to collect them or help them to let go of this life.
These experiences are usually talked about as being comforting and calming.
It is not known how many dying people have these experiences, but we know from research that end of life visions have a significant meaning for people who are dying.
Spiritual care at the end of life is now recognised as part of good palliative care.
Many people die without religious or spiritual beliefs and this must be respected. Research shows that the nearer people come to the end of life, the more questions arise about the meaning and purpose of our existence.
Spiritual practice, including religion may become more important.
Spirituality means different things to different people.
Religion and faith might be part of someone’s spirituality, but spirituality isn’t always religious.
Everyone has spiritual needs throughout their lives whether they follow a religion or not.
Spiritual needs can include:
You must never impose your own faith or beliefs onto a person who you are supporting and never be judgemental about their beliefs.
Talking about their beliefs can help a person to cope with dying. Sometimes just asking them to explain their beliefs and how they are feeling will be enough. Often this will lead to more in depth conversations. Several tools have been developed to help health and social care professionals to talk to people about their beliefs because it is recognised that this is not an easy thing to do.
The “FAITH” tool (developed by D E King) suggests asking the following questions:
- F – Do you have a faith or religion that is important to you?
- A – How do your beliefs apply to your health?
- I – Are you involved in a faith community?
- T – How do your spiritual views affect your views about your treatment?
- H – How could I help you with any spiritual concerns?
The important thing is to ensure you do not show any judgement or allow your beliefs to influence these conversations.
DO – Listen
DO – Respect
DO NOT – Offer to pray for someone
DO NOT – Pray or conduct any religious acts with someone unless they ask you to.
You can ask for religious or spiritual support to be organised for the dying person through your manager. Chaplains will arrange for prayers to be said, and last rites to be administered if the dying person is a Christian. They will arrange for other faith ministers, priests or rabbis to visit or talk with the dying person.
Don’t be afraid to seek religious or spiritual support for yourself.
People can provide help and support whether it’s for a person who is dying, their relatives, or if you need to talk about things that are distressing you.
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