Mark Vernon contemplates "futile care," for those "living with dying":
Might a good death be defined as one in which the dying are helped and allowed to depart in such a way that they become peaceful, benign energies in the lives of the still living? The living, in turn, can say to the dying, we will grieve, we long for you not to go; but we will join you in time, and in the meantime, will live as well as we can remembering you. Something like this is behind many of the rituals of death, from lighting candles to laying places at the meal table for the recently departed and praying for them. I wonder whether a lack of such rituals in a secular world compounds the problems that organisations like health services face; might be another way in which hospital chaplains could save money?
The Dish 