To care for a person as an individual means being sensitive to their unique set of relationships with family, friends, carers, other loved ones, and their community. Providers of palliative and end of life care must seek to support this network by helping them to help the person who is dying. This help includes supporting them in their own preparation for bereavement. This support must be available, sensitive and tailored to the context of their individual needs. This obligation extends to the care that is needed in response to sudden death and suicide. Good end of life care encompasses support to help people manage the impact of such unexpected or traumatic death on those who are bereaved. NHS England » Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care: A national framework for local action 2021-2026
Mersey Care staff supporting a bereaved family can send a bereavement card designed to offer condolences from the team. On the back of the card there is a contact number asking if they would like to have a conversation with us about their experiences or a QR code which family can scan to complete feedback. The team that provided support may also wish to either contact the bereaved relative / carer by phone or schedule a post bereavement visit. This gives bereaved relatives / carers the opportunity to give us feedback and all contacts should be documented in the patient’s records via ‘the EMIS bereavement review template’.
There is a normal process of grief that follows the loss of a loved one. If your bereaved family are struggling with grief, you may need to signpost them to their GP for support and advice. If your patient was cared for by a local hospice, they offer support for up to one year after the loss of a loved one.
(Link to bereavement policy when available).
There are other places that offer support, see local links.
Local Links
Butterflies Project | Knowsley Family Information Service (knowsleyinfo.co.uk) supporting children and young people experiencing bereavement
Cruse Bereavement Care: Victim Care Merseyside
Home - Liverpool Bereavement Services
We believe in the transformative power of counselling - Listening Ear (listening-ear.co.uk)
The DAVID Project - People First Merseyside for people with learning disabilities
Queenscourt Hospice | Where life is for living
National Links
Get help with grief after bereavement or loss - NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Sue Ryder Bereavement Information-Grief Kind
Grieving in your own way: how to process and deal with grief (mariecurie.org.uk)