Provision of counselling for the dying patient.

The majority of doctors and nurses clearly recognise their responsibility to provide palliative care to the dying patient, and also the need for effective communication, counselling and support for this group of patients. This paper explores some of the issues preventing patient and significant others from being referred to the counselling service at this stage, and demonstrates that the nursing staff feel both inadequate and ill prepared to deliver quality care to the dying patient and use avoidance as a coping mechanism.