Last offices

The last offices are the procedures performed, usually by a nurse, to the body of a dead person shortly after death has been confirmed. They can vary between hospitals and between cultures.

Name

The word "offices" is related to the original Latin, in which officium means "service, duty, business".[1] Hence these are the "last duties" carried out on the body.

Aims

[2]

Procedure

Often the body of the deceased is left for up to an hour as a mark of respect. The procedure then typically includes the following steps, though they can vary according to an institution's preferred practices:

References

  1. Online Etymology Dictionary
  2. Rana, D., & Upton, D. (2009). Psychology for nurses. Essex, UK: Pearson
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