What happens to people after they die in hospital

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I don't know what's made me wonder this morning. A few years ago my DM died in hospital. We said our goodbyes and left her in the room, looking like she was sleeping. The hospital was fairly busy during this time, think it was visiting hours.

What will have happened after we left? Will they have treated her as if she were still alive, talked to her? Do they really cover up their faces? And how are they taken to the morgue?

Just want to know. Really missing DM.

I want to thank the posters on this thread. I read it when it came out and last weekend I was with my mother in law when she died. The nurse was in and out and I had what felt like a sacred honour of opening the window. It was a very peaceful and moving experience and I was better prepared for it after reading this thread.

Wow. What a moving read. to all those who have lost loved ones, and huge love to all the HCPs here.

I have no experiene of losing any of my relatives, But my other halfs grandad died recently. It was very sudden and quick. We live 2 hours away and due to no car i asked my mum to get us there but she had just taken her medication which she is not allowed to drive on, so we had to wait until morning.

We stayed up through the night, and OHs brother rang and i spoke to him as OH was too upset. We both thought that he had decided he'd finished in this world. BIL said he would ring back with any furhter news should anything happen before we could set off in the morning.

He went back into the hospital and his grandadwas lying there, he'd been totally out of it. He told him that he loved him and he told him that OH loved him and that he wished more than anything he could be here and that OH loves him so so much. And his grandad nodded and smiled and then he went.

It was dignified and he was treated with respect at all times and it is even more heart warming to know that people such as yourselves here would have continued that after he had left his body behind.

I would give every one of you a kiss if a could.

Sorry to reanimate the old thread, but my wonderful nan passed away this week and reading this while the kids sleep in has been my first chance to really accept it and have a good cry.

I'll always love you Nan, thanks for everything you've done for me.
Hope you're somewhere lovely.

Lovely to hear about the Good Tea Set. I'm sorry that they didn't have one on the ward where Dad died. He would have loved it. He waited for his friend to arrive. She lived abroad and flew over when she knew he hadn't got long. He was barely responsive in the lat couple of days, so I didn't know how much he was taking in, but his friend arrived at about 9pm,and he died about 10, so I think he must have understood when I told him she was coming, and waited for her to say goodbye.

I understand my husband passed last year. He was an amazing person and really miss him! It was more difficult with his niece being very rude and disrespectful to me.

Well, I had oddly never thought about my grandmother passing in hospital, and after my cousin had left who was with her when she passed what would have happened, such a beautiful thought that she would have been looked after so well she would have really been grateful, god love our NHS and it's amazing workers..

I was redeployed to icu during the last COVID wave. No visitors were allowed, even if their relative was dying. Even in the hectic early days of COVID, we still made sure the dying patient had someone with them throughout to hold their hand. We also laid them out with the usual care and compassion we would always show. It’s an honour we nurses get to do this for our patients.

In normal times everything that has been said is true! My wife is a nurse and has dealt with many deaths!

Recently she has been working on a covid ward, everything is still the same, she said the only difference is, they now put them in body baga

I have dealt with hundreds of deceased in my 15 years as a hospice Nurse. We let relatives stay with them as long as needed. Wash them if needed and place any special items, cuddly toys, favourite blanket etc with them. Most staff would talk to the deceased. We used to take them to the small hospice mortuary ourselves, and say goodnight as they went into the fridge. Always treated with upmost dignity, as did all the undertakers etc who collected the bodies.

Why in the world would this be in classics?

@strawberriesontheNeva

Why in the world would this be in classics?

We moved this thread to Classics several years ago in response to many requests and posts like this one:

'Beautiful, beautiful thread.

My sympathies to everyone who has lost someone dear.

I would like to nominate this thread for classics as it is so wonderfully reassuring and I feel it brings into focus a side of the NHS that is little known or understood.

Mumsnet Classics isn't just for funny threads, by the way - it's for any special threads which Mumsnetters feel are important and want to keep hold of.