St Catherine’s Hospice launches a ‘Bereavement for Companies’ training package for community businesses

St Catherine’s Hospice has launched a new bereavement training package to help managers support staff going through a difficult time or returning to work following a bereavement or loss.

The hospice’s Knowledge Exchange team hopes to equip professionals with the skills and confidence to support colleagues as well as their own relatives, friends and neighbours at the end of life and during bereavement.

Debbie Bolton, Head of Clinical Education at the Lostock Hall hospice, explained: “Inevitably death and bereavement are part of life, touching everyone at some point and of course not only in connection with a hospice. That’s why we have introduced some new courses for HR teams and management, which aim to empower senior colleagues to offer the right support to their teams if they are faced with bereavement.

“It’s part of our commitment to developing ‘compassionate communities’ and promoting wellbeing across Central Lancashire. We understand that supporting a grieving person or someone affected by a life-shortening illness can seem a daunting and challenging task and, even with the best intentions, managers can struggle to know what to say or how to approach these sensitive situations.”

She added: “The Compassionate Communities approach has been high on our agenda for some time now – whereby communities are mobilised to support themselves alongside established services – and has become even more prevalent during the last 12 months throughout the pandemic. People have been faced with new worries and uncertain futures, and have become more aware of the importance of being better prepared for the end of life and reaching out to people who are struggling or suffering.

“We’ve also devised new educational sessions for 2021 which are open to anyone to attend remotely, including ‘When You Don’t Know What To Say’, ‘Understanding Hospice Care’ and ‘Understanding Bereavement’. We look at coping strategies and the different types of grief and how it affects people in various ways, and offer tips about what to say and how to broach difficult subjects.

“By offering prompts and guidance, we hope it will help people to support those around them and ensure they no longer look back with regret and think ‘I just didn’t know what to say’.”

St Catherine’s also delivers specialist study sessions for healthcare professionals such as district nurses and care home staff, providing training in areas such as Advance Care Planning and Communication Skills, Approaching End of Life with Parkinson’s Disease, Palliative Care Emergencies, Advance Care Planning for People with Dementia, Delivering High Quality End of Life Care, and more. Click here to see the calendar of upcoming events.

– To find out more about the St Catherine’s Hospice study sessions and training opportunities for companies and professionals, please email education@stcatherines.co.uk or call 01772 629171.

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