Abstract
BackgroundFollowing a patient’s death, some doctors routinely write a letter of condolence to the bereaved family. Practice appears to vary widely but this is poorly documented, particularly in the UK setting. We wished to explore the attitudes of oncologists and palliative care consultants towards writing letters of condolence to patient’s families.MethodsA sample of oncology and palliative care consultants from across Yorkshire were invited via email to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey aimed to identify current practice regarding condolence letter writing and respondents attitudes towards this.ResultsA total of 47 (72%) recipients completed the survey, comprised of clinical oncologists (45%), medical oncologists (42%), and palliative care consultants (13%). The majority (87%) reported sending condolence letters, but amongst this group, only 49% indicated they do this ‘often’ or ‘always’. When asked whether they would use a standard template letter, should it be made available, 77% of participants responded negatively. Many later commented that a template with room for flexibility would be better received. The majority (72%) were also not in favour of the introduction of policies to try to unify practices.ConclusionsPractices and attitudes towards condolence letter writing are variable. The participants in this study felt strongly about when and how they wished to express condolences. A single unifying policy seems unlikely to be appropriate or feasible.
Highlights
Following a patient’s death, some doctors routinely write a letter of condolence to the bereaved family
We examined the bereavement practices of oncologists and palliative care consultants in Yorkshire and their attitudes towards this, with a particular focus on the use of condolence letters
The study took the form of an anonymous online survey sent to palliative care and oncology consultants based at one cancer centre and four cancer units across Yorkshire
Summary
Following a patient’s death, some doctors routinely write a letter of condolence to the bereaved family. We wished to explore the attitudes of oncologists and palliative care consultants towards writing letters of condolence to patient’s families. The survey aimed to identify current practice regarding condolence letter writing and respondents attitudes towards this. The majority (87%) reported sending condolence letters, but amongst this group, only 49% indicated they do this ‘often’ or ‘always’. When asked whether they would use a standard template letter, should it be made available, 77% of participants responded negatively. Doctors themselves may experience grief over the deaths of patients and engaging in bereavement practices may have a positive impact [12]
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