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Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Services Strategy for Bereavement Care

in
Publisher: 
DHSSPSNI
Author: 
DHSSPSNI
Date published: 
22 June, 2009
Region: 
Northern Ireland

Publication type: 
policy
Publication link: 
Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Services Strategy for Bereavement Care
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This strategy is aimed at individuals and Health and Social Care organisations that come into contact with bereaved persons. It hopes to improve the quality of such contact and ensure no harm is done to the healing and recovery process through this contact. It addresses the physical, psychological, social, financial and spiritual needs of people who are dying and family’s access to information and levels of support.

Approximately 15,000 people die each year in Northern Ireland with the largest number dying in hospital, hospices and nursing homes (73%) and around 11% undergoing a consented hospital or non-consented Coroner’s post mortem examination.
 
The NI Audit to Assess Care After Death: Systems Processes and Practices in Bereavement Care 2008 was undertaken across the HPSS Trusts and within all hospices across Northern Ireland to identify the profile of need and to map current services. A number of public strategies have also been developed to address different types of death and while bereavement care is often referred to in these strategies, there has not been an integrated approach to such care within the delivery of health and social care services.  This strategy looks at the need for a holistic, co-ordinated approach to bereavement care in relation to the following:
 
·         During the ‘journey’ of bereavement (i.e. prior to, at the time of, and following the death)
·         In all circumstances (i.e. whether the death is sudden or expected)
·         At all ages (i.e. miscarriage, stillbirth, children, young people, adults and older people)
·         To all persons affected (e.g. patients, relatives, friends and staff)
·         For all aspects of diversity2 (i.e. religious belief, political opinion, race, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, disability, carers, social, economic, rural and urban needs).
 
It is recognised that a compassionate and sensitive approach throughout all of the procedures andprocesses surrounding death can impact positively on the grieving process to facilitatehealing.

A region wide multi-agency group from Health and Social Care (HSC) services has worked in partnership with other public and voluntary sector agencies to develop this strategy for bereavement care within the HSC services across Northern Ireland.

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