A person's belongings are an extension of them and should be treated with the same care and dignity shown to the person who died. We want to show families that while the person was a patient, they were cared for and respected from the moment they arrived, until the time they left.
Design files for the handover bags and other resources are available for use by other hospitals, health services and care facilities, in accordance with the terms of use.
Useful tips
- Your End of Life Care Committee or Patient Safety and Quality Committee may be able to support you to implement the handover bags and resources in your health service or care facility.
- Talk to your local fundraising group about whether they could support this initiative locally.
- A small working group of 4-6 people can help to get the project off the ground. You should only need about 3-4 short meetings to get this project underway.
- Talk to your corporate teams about the local printers in your area who may be able to source bags and provide quotes for the bags, cards and booklets.
- Your health information teams may provide information about how many people die in your district every year, which will give you a guide as to how many bags and other resources you may need.
End of Life Care Tree of Life
The End of Life Care Tree of Life symbol was designed by SCHHS with input from consumer representatives. The tree represents the life cycle – leaves fall and new ones grow in their place, supported by strong foundations. The purple colour is a calming colour and is consistent with other resources such as the Queensland Health Statement of Choices form.
The only version of the tree symbol that can be used is that which is provided below. The symbol should not be stretched, skewed, rotated, distorted, condensed, oriented or altered in any other way.
Handover bags
A recycled, non-dyed paper bag was chosen to have a minimal impact on the environment. We used a bag that was approximately 34.5cm x 45cm x 12cm to be large enough to hold a person’s shoes and folded clothing.
Door signs
Door signs indicate to staff and visitors that the patient is in the terminal phase or has died and only essential staff should enter the room to care for the patient and provide support to family members and friends.
The door sign can be printed on plain paper and laminated. It doesn’t require professional printing. This means they can be wiped clean, or disposed of for infection control or if they become soiled.
A good size for the sign is 10cm x10cm, although the image can be printed larger or smaller if preferred.
Bereavement cards
These cards can optionally be included in the bag to allow staff to write their names or a brief message to the family.
Design files
Design files for the End of Life Care Tree of Life symbol, handover bags and door signs can be viewed and downloaded from Dropbox.
Terms of use
The recipient of these designs is responsible for acknowledging Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service in every instance they are used, including media. Please use the following acknowledgement with all collateral using this design:
This material is courtesy of, and is based upon the work of, Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service, Queensland, Australia.
The colour of the tree graphic must remain as the purple provided. The colour codes for this colour purple are as follows:
- Hex: #a38ac0
- RGB: 163, 138, 192
- CMYK: 37, 48, 0, 0
- PMS: 2655U
‘When Someone Dies’ booklet
The ‘When Someone Dies’ booklet is included in SCHHS handover bags to provide families with consistent information about grief, loss and bereavement. The booklet also contains practical information about what to do when someone dies, such as who you should notify, and reminders to cancel subscriptions and memberships.
This booklet cannot be printed and used outside of Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service. However, it should provide an outline to allow you to create this resource for your own hospital or health service.