End-of-life in a hospital: offer assistance but don’t forget about prescribed medication

A citizen filed a complaint against a hospital that may have left his family member alone just before he died.

He feared that this is what happened because the hospital failed to inform him about the death immediately. 

The staff had monitored and helped the man properly throughout his end-of-life stay. However, the Protecteur du citoyen’s investigation showed that he could have been given medication to provide relief. Despite a prescription that was in his file, the staff did not administer it.

At the Protecteur du citoyen’s request, the institution reminded the staff concerned about the importance of giving end-of-life patients their prescribed medication to relieve them as much as possible.