Bereavement Support
At St Catherine’s Hospice we try to consider every aspect of palliative care and this includes care after a death when we offer support to relatives and friends to help them cope with their grief.
St Catherine's provides bereavement support through all community and hospice based teams that include doctors, nurses, social workers and chaplains. There is also a trained group of 'Family Visitor' volunteers who offer telephone contact and home visits to provide 'someone to talk to' during the immediate weeks and months after the death of a close friend or relative. In addition, St Catherine's works closely with another local charity Vine House to provide bereavement support.
There is no set timescale for bereavement and evereyone's experience is different so we provide a number of different ways to help. There is a Bereavement Therapy Group, this runs over a few weeks and starts at two different times during the year. Facilitated by the social work and bereavement support teams, these meetings sensitively bring together bereaved relatives.
Ongoing support is also available thanks to our Catherine’s Wheel Group, which meets on the second Wednesday of each month 7.30-9pm. This peer-support group has been instrumental in helping bereaved families and carers since the Hospice was first established and all bereaved relatives are invited to join.
For an helpful guide to our bereavement services, practical advice in the event of a death and useful contacts, our Bereavement Handbook is available to download 
.
Understanding bereavement
The Family Support team's work continues beyond the death of a patient because bereavement can sometimes be a devastating experience causing stronger emotions than someone may have ever felt before. Grief is a very personal experience and we all respond differently because we are unique and each person's life follows its own path. As we experience grief we are affected by our experience, culture, age, the relationship we had with the deceased, how death occurred, what else is happening at the time, support or lack of it from others such as family and friends, and so on.
'What is important is that you allow yourself time to grieve, be kind to yourself and adapt to your loss in the way that is right for you.'
You may or may not experience the following:
Possible Feelings of grief
- Anger
- Guilt
- Shock
- Yearning
- Disbelief
- Denial
- Sadness
Possible physical experiences
- Disturbed Sleep
- Lack of appetite
- Apathy
- Anxiety
- Panic
- Lethargy
- Irritability
Grief can appear at different times and can sweep over us unexpectedly. Although these experiences, feelings and emotions can make us so overwhelmed to the extent where we may feel as if 'I'm going mad', please be reassured that these are normal reactions to loss. Actually, sometimes people feel guilty because they don't have some of these feelings at a time of grief and that can be just as confusing, so it is vitally important to keep remembering that we are all different and react differently to situations that occur around us.
Grief is sometimes described as a process that we go through in response to a loss, it can be very difficult indeed and that struggle is not a sign that one is somehow being a failure or that one is 'not coping' because grief is unavoidable and yet, it can be managed over time.
Benefits and support for people who are bereaved
Bereavement benefits are available to some widows/widowers and civil partners, dependent on whether you are below state pension age and also on the deceased person’s national insurance contributions. In addition, if you have difficulties with funeral expenses there is financial help available via the Social Fund called a Funeral Grant, dependent on if you are in receipt of certain benefits.
There is a time limit for claiming bereavement benefits and funeral grants and it would be beneficial if you take advice from your local job centre as soon as possible as a delay may disqualify you from claiming.
Also, when someone dies in your household and they are in receipt of state benefits, inclusive of retirement pensions, it may be that you will need a review of your benefits inclusive of housing benefit and council tax so we suggest you seek advice from your local council, Welfare Rights your local Job Centre, Pensions Service and Bereavement Advice Centre.
Bereavement support
Bereavement Support at the Hospice is provided in various ways and listed below are the services provided by the Bereavement Support Team that includes our social workers.
Bereavement volunteers:
Are a small group of people managed by the Bereavement Coordinator who are experienced and have trained in their role. They provide bereavement support to relatives of people who have died in the Hospice in the form of telephone calls and home visits (as required) because we have found that it’s sometimes easier to talk to someone other than family and friends when people die. A trained volunteer will telephone six weeks after a death in the hospice unless bereavement support was declined at the time of death.
Bereavement Therapy Group
This is a 'closed' group which means that once the group has started no one else can join that particular group. This brings a sense of stability and reassurance to members of the group. A new group is established twice a year and bereaved people known to the Hospice and palliative care teams are invited. These are structured meetings in that each session has a theme relating to bereavement and general wellbeing.
Bereavement Support Group
Has been established at the Hospice mainly since its inception and is known to many as Catherine’s Wheel. The group provides mutual support to bereaved families/people known to St Catherine’s. It has an informal structure in that there are themes to some sessions, occasional speakers attend, or often the group just meets for a coffee evening.. The group meets on the second Wednesday of each month from 7.30 pm to 9.00 pm.
Bereavement Counselling:
Can be provided by the Hospice if requested. The Hospice is an organisational member of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP).
