Bereavement Support
We all grieve in different ways and there is no right or ‘normal’ way to react to the death of a colleague, friend or family member.
Whether this is through dealing with loss privately, wanting to reach out and talk, or just supporting someone who is grieving, we want you to know that there are various ways in which we can support you.
You can also refer to our Bereavement and Grief Booklet, which addresses these complex feelings and thoughts along with many different coping strategies.
Feelings of Grief
It is understandable that when a family, friend or colleague has passed away, it can impact your work and your team.
Each person will be affected in his or her own way because everyone is different and had their own relationship with the person who has passed away.
Therefore, losing someone can come with a range of different emotions and sometimes it is difficult to control or identify these when someone is grieving.
You Might Feel:
- Shock and numbness – this is usually the first reaction to the death, and people often speak of being in a daze
- Overwhelming sadness, with lots of crying
- Tiredness or exhaustion
- Anger
- Guilt
- Pre-occupied with some details of the person’s last moments or the way that they died, particularly if it was traumatic.
How We Can Support You
Please check out the dropdown options to read the ways in which Lead Employer can support you, along with other resources that are available.
- MWL's Bereavement Support Services
Sometimes we don’t know where to start, so, the Trust has provided crucial information and advice such as registering a death, post mortem information and how to talk about death.
Please click here to access this information.
- NHS Bereavement Support Line
Our confidential bereavement support line is operated by Hospice UK and is free to access. The team of fully qualified and trained bereavement specialists are available to support you with bereavement and wellbeing issues relating to loss experienced through your work.
Bereavement Support Line: 0300 303 4434
(8am – 8pm, seven days a week)
- Contacts to Different Bereavement Services, Help and Advice
Please click here to access many other services you can seek guidance from, such as:
- Child Bereavement UK help to rebuild a family’s lives when a child or young person is grieving
- Carers UK offer wide-ranging support for various aspects of Carers' lives
- The Lullaby Trust support bereaved families and promote safe baby care advice
- Further Bereavement Resources
By clicking here, you can access a document that has been put together by one of our colleagues-in-training, Matt Palethorpe. Here you will find a number of useful bereavement resources.
From bereavement from suicide, to experiencing the loss of a child, there are plenty of support services included.