A Buddhist family flew from Vietnam to wash and prepare the body of a family member who had died of an Aids-related illness. They brought oils and wraps and expected to spend some time washing and preparing the body in the ICU in preparation for a same-day cremation.
Unknown to staff, they began this process when left alone with the body. However, the hospital staff was keen to place the body in a sealed bag for immediate transport to the mortuary. The family became agitated and insistent on ministering to the body where it lay. A social worker mediated and arranged to have the family members’ wishes adhered to.
Their activities took longer than expected and the body began to release significant quantities of fluid. Relatives of other patients became distressed by the noise and activity and it was decided that the body should be placed in a body bag and taken to the mortuary.
“There was a clear conflict of interest between staff needing to think of infection-control procedures and a family, highly charged emotionally, needing and expecting to carry out death rituals in situ,” the social worker recalled. “In the end, no one was happy with the way the situation deteriorated.”
Source: Health, Faith and Equality, by the Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, for the Health Research Board.