Emergency department experience with sudden death: a survey of survivors

Sudden death in the emergency department occurs frequently. Intervention by ED support staff may have a significant impact on the survivor's grief response. This study was undertaken to assess sudden death survivors' perceptions and satisfaction with their ED experience, as well as to identify potential weaknesses in their management. Family members of 66 patients who died in the ED from January 1980 to March 1985 were surveyed by telephone interview regarding the care they, as survivors, received while in the ED. Forty-seven of 66 (71%) were satisfied, 19 of 66 (29%) believed that their family received average or worse than average care. Thirty-seven of 66 (56%) survivors viewed the deceased in the ED; five regretted this. Twenty-nine survivors did not view; seven (24%) had regrets. Participants were questioned about attitudes expressed by the ED staff. Most responses were favorable, but a significant number thought the staff cold, unsympathetic, and not reassuring. Areas of apparent survivor dissatisfaction are discussed.