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Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 Course
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The Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 course explores compassionate communication following a patient death, including condolences, meaningful apologies, duty of candour, keeping families informed and supporting staff. Designed for healthcare and social care professionals, it provides practical knowledge for handling difficult conversations sensitively, communicating openly and supporting bereaved families while meeting professional and regulatory expectations.
Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 Course Summary
Course Name: Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2
Duration: 2 Hours
Delivery: Online Training Course
Certificate Included: Instant Digital Certificate
Accreditation: CPD Accredited – 2 CPD Points
Suitable For: Healthcare and social care professionals involved in patient care, end-of-life care, bereavement support or communication with families following a death
Assessment: Online Multiple Choice Test
Access: Instant Access
Duration
1 hour
CPD Points
2
Last Updated:
25 Jul 2026
What is Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training?
Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training develops the communication and interpersonal skills required when a patient or service user dies.
Learners explore how to offer condolences appropriately, say sorry, provide a meaningful apology and communicate honestly with relatives and carers. The course also examines the statutory duty of candour and how openness and transparency should be applied when something has gone wrong with care.
Practical topics include keeping families informed, involving appropriate specialists, supporting colleagues and approaching difficult conversations with empathy.
The training helps staff recognise that communication following a death can significantly affect a bereaved family’s experience. It supports a compassionate, open workplace culture in which families receive appropriate information and support, staff feel able to communicate honestly, and organisations can learn from incidents and mistakes.
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Who Is This Course For?
The Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 course is suitable for healthcare and social care workers who may be involved in patient deaths or communicate with relatives, carers and colleagues following a death.
This includes registered nurses, healthcare assistants, care workers, senior carers, doctors, ambulance staff, social workers, support workers, care home staff, hospice and palliative care teams, community healthcare professionals, counsellors, therapists, chaplains and spiritual care providers.
It is particularly relevant to staff working in hospitals, GP and primary care services, hospices, care homes, nursing homes, domiciliary care, supported living, community healthcare and palliative or end-of-life care.
The course can support induction, refresher training and continuing professional development for staff who need to strengthen their communication, empathy and duty of candour knowledge.
Key Benefits
✓ Communicate sensitively and compassionately with bereaved families and carers
✓ Offer appropriate condolences, apologies and meaningful explanations
✓ Apply duty of candour principles when something has gone wrong
✓ Keep relatives and carers appropriately informed following a patient death
✓ Recognise when specialist support may benefit families or staff
✓ Support an open workplace culture that learns from incidents and mistakes
Course Modules
- Managing Patient Deaths Level 2 – Course Introduction
- Offering Condolences
- Saying Sorry
- A Meaningful Apology
- Duty of Candour Copy
- Duty of Candour in Practice
- Keeping Carers and Family Informed
- Communication
- Engaging Specialists
- Support for Staff Members
- Empathy Museum
- Chronology of Tasks
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Learning Outcomes
| Learner Outcome | Covered |
|---|---|
| Communicate sensitively with families following a patient death | ✓ |
| Offer appropriate condolences to bereaved relatives and carers | ✓ |
| Recognise when and how to say sorry appropriately | ✓ |
| Deliver a meaningful and compassionate apology | ✓ |
| Explain the principles of the Duty of Candour | ✓ |
| Apply Duty of Candour requirements in practice | ✓ |
| Keep families and carers appropriately informed | ✓ |
| Use empathy during difficult and emotional conversations | ✓ |
| Recognise when specialist support should be involved | ✓ |
| Support colleagues affected by a patient death | ✓ |
| Respond appropriately to the needs of bereaved people | ✓ |
| Follow appropriate tasks and communication after a death | ✓ |
| Identify opportunities to learn from incidents and feedback | ✓ |
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What Our Learners Say?
“Helped me understand how to approach difficult conversations with families more sensitively and confidently.”
Sarah M
Senior Care Assistant
“The duty of candour section was particularly useful and clearly explained how it applies in practice.”
Daniel R
Registered Nurse
“Practical, respectful and relevant to situations we regularly face when supporting residents and their families.”
Helen T
Care Home Deputy Manager
4.91/5 from 123+ learners
Why Is Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training important?
The way healthcare and social care professionals communicate following a death can have a lasting impact on relatives and carers. Families need clear information, compassionate communication and opportunities to ask questions during an extremely difficult time.
Poor communication, defensive responses or failure to keep families informed can increase distress and undermine trust. Staff therefore need the confidence to communicate honestly, demonstrate empathy and recognise when additional support is required.
The course also reinforces the importance of openness when care has not gone as expected. For CQC-regulated providers in England, Regulation 20 establishes the statutory duty of candour and requires openness and transparency in relation to care and treatment. Specific requirements apply when a notifiable safety incident occurs.
Effective training therefore supports compassionate care, professional competence, organisational learning and safer workplace practice.
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Is Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training a legal requirement in the UK?
There is no UK law requiring employees to complete a course with this specific title.
However, employers must ensure workers receive appropriate training and support to perform their duties safely and competently. For CQC-regulated services in England, Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 requires staff to receive appropriate support, training, professional development, supervision and appraisal necessary for their roles.
Regulation 20 also establishes the statutory duty of candour. Registered providers and managers must act openly and transparently, with specific requirements following notifiable safety incidents, including informing relevant people, providing reasonable support and offering an apology.
Training can therefore help employers demonstrate that relevant staff understand their responsibilities and can apply appropriate communication and candour principles in practice.
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Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training FAQ?
What is Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 training?
It is an online CPD-accredited course for healthcare and social care professionals who may communicate with families, carers or colleagues following a patient or service user death. It covers condolences, saying sorry, meaningful apologies, duty of candour, family communication, specialist involvement, empathy and support for staff.
Who needs Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy training?
The course is suitable for nurses, healthcare assistants, doctors, care workers, senior carers, support workers, social workers, ambulance staff, hospice teams and other professionals involved in patient care, bereavement or end-of-life services. It can also benefit managers and staff responsible for communicating with relatives after a death.
Is Managing Patient Deaths training a legal requirement?
There is no specific legal requirement to complete a course called Managing Patient Deaths. However, regulated providers must ensure staff have appropriate training for their roles, and CQC-regulated services in England must comply with the statutory duty of candour. Relevant training can help staff understand and apply these responsibilities.
What is the duty of candour following a patient death?
The statutory duty of candour requires CQC-regulated health and social care providers to be open and transparent with people receiving care. When a death results from a qualifying notifiable safety incident, specific requirements can include informing the relevant person, providing reasonable support, giving a truthful account, explaining further enquiries and offering an apology.
How should healthcare staff communicate with a family after a patient dies?
Communication should be clear, compassionate, honest and appropriate to the family’s circumstances. Staff should listen, allow questions, avoid unnecessary jargon and provide information within the boundaries of their role. Where appropriate, relatives should be kept informed about what happens next and directed towards specialist, bereavement or other support.
How long does the Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy course take?
The online course takes approximately 1–2 hours, depending on the learner’s pace. It is self-directed, allowing learners to work through the communication, empathy and duty of candour topics at a suitable pace before completing the online multiple-choice assessment.
What is the difference between saying sorry and admitting liability in healthcare?
An apology is an important part of compassionate and open communication when something has gone wrong. The duty of candour specifically requires an apology following a notifiable safety incident. CQC guidance emphasises that providers should communicate openly and honestly with affected people rather than avoiding an apology through fear or defensiveness.
How often should Managing Patient Deaths training be refreshed?
There is no single statutory refresher interval for this specific course. Employers should determine refresher frequency according to staff roles, organisational policy, identified learning needs, incidents, regulatory requirements and changes to guidance. Refresher training may also be appropriate where staff regularly support dying patients, bereaved families or duty of candour processes.
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Managing Patient Deaths: Communication & Empathy – Level 2 Course
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