Kieran McLaughlin and colleagues outline the views of emergency nurses on the presence of families during and after attempts to resuscitate their loved ones

Caring for families of critically ill patients is part of emergency nurses’ role, but there is a difference of opinion about whether families should be present during resuscitation attempts. This article reports on an opinion survey conducted at two health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland, in which 160 emergency nurses were asked for their views on holistic family-centred care during and after resuscitation. Most participants said that, although they have a duty to provide such care, they are often prevented from doing so by lack of staff and time, and by inadequate education. In light of this finding, the article suggests that staff should take part in debriefing sessions and follow-up programmes should be made available for families after resuscitations have been attempted.