(M),(N) this is Phaedra and Lyla coming to talk with you about death and dying.

There is a lot to learn about this subject, it is so complex. First rule though is to help them the way they want to be helped. No use forcing your views on what you think about religion when you have a Christian in front of you who totally believes the biblical stories.

They may have days when they want to die, be kind and gentle with them and if you can, honour their wishes and make them as comfortable as possible. Often there is a reason for holding on to life, with (D) it’s her son – she wonders how on Earth he will manage without her. It’s a very interesting situation. Without him she would be very sad and find life hard, but if he wasn’t around she would have died years ago.

(N) – this needs to be on a ‘need to know’. There are too many variables.