Tag: bereavement

Scotmid Funerals donates £10K to two Edinburgh charities

THOUSANDS OF SCOTS TO BENEFIT FROM BOOSTED BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT FOLLOWING £10K DOUBLE DONATION FROM SCOTMID FUNERALS

Two Edinburgh-headquartered charities that provide services and support for the bereaved across Scotland, have received a welcome boost following a donation from a Scottish funeral care provider – to the sum of £10,000.

Scotmid Funerals, part of the Scotmid Cooperative which exists to serve the communities in which it operates, made the donations as part of its Covid Community Fund, which has seen more than 300 organisations benefit from financial support since lockdown began earlier in the year.

Cruse Scotland, which offers support for around 5000 bereaved people every year, via a helpline and one to one counselling sessions, has received a £7500 donation from Scotmid Funerals which will be used to support the many people who have found themselves grieving in isolation or not being able to attend funerals due to lockdown.

The funding will go towards the cost of running Cruse Scotland’s helpline and one-to-one services, which are available to everyone who has faced the passing of a loved one, regardless of the cause of death, anyone who is bereaved in lockdown or has been affected by the impact of the pandemic.

Keith Robertson, chief executive of Cruse Scotland, welcomed the donation. He said: “The helpline is a compassionate listening service that offers people guidance about grief, reassurance that their feelings are normal and information on how to access further support.

“We have found that during lockdown, calls are more complex as people are grieving in isolation, they may not have attended funerals and many more are feeling anxious about Covid-19.

“The generous donation from Scotmid Funerals will help us to ensure that anyone who is grieving, wherever they are, will be able to access the help and support they need to get through a very difficult period of their lives.  

The Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC), which works to enable communities and individuals to support each other during hard times, has received a £2500 donation from Scotmid Funerals in the wake of Covid-19, which has resulted in many people finding themselves either experiencing declining health, without the usual family support or grieving the loss of a loved one in isolation.

The funding will go towards Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief (GLGDGG), a Scotland-wide alliance set up in 2011 which works collectively to raise awareness on ways to cope with dying, death and bereavement. 

Mark Hazelwood, chief executive of the SPPC, welcomed the donation. He said: “Declining health, death and bereavement affects everyone at some point.  Our work is about ensuring that people are as well prepared as they can be and can get the care and support they need during those hard times. other. 

“We are really delighted to receive this generous donation from Scotmid Funerals.  It will help us to continue our work which we know can make a big difference for people during a very difficult period of their lives.” 

James Blackburn, head of funerals for Scotmid Funerals, said: “End of life care and looking after those who are bereaved are both areas which need to be managed sensitively and compassionately.

“Our donations to both charities will help ensure that anyone who needs support in end of life care or to cope with the loss of a loved one, will be able to get it. It will help make sure that nobody feels that they need to go through this by themselves – and that can often be the first step in the healing process.

“I am delighted that we are able to make these contributions and help make a little difference to people across Scotland.”

BPS advice on supporting each other at work following the death of a colleague

Grief at any time is difficult and painful and even under normal circumstances the death of a colleague can be challenging and represent a significant loss.

The realities of Covid-19 means that there are additional challenges for people mourning the death of a colleague due to the lack of access to support from friends, family and colleagues.

The British Psychological Society’s Covid-19 bereavement task force has launched a new document, ‘Supporting each other following the death of a colleague’, to help people understand their feelings and reaction if they do lose a colleague during this time.

Professor Nichola Rooney, chair of the task force, said: “Sadly, many people have been bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic, with some grieving the death of a colleague.

“We spend a lot of time at work and often form close bonds with people we work with, so losing a colleague at a time when we may not have our usual support networks can be particularly difficult.”

The booklet gives advice on how to cope with returning to work following the death of a colleague and encourages employees to take advantage of the support that is available to them and allowing for the fact that work may be affected by the grieving process.

It encourages people to take the opportunity to consider marking the death through a memorial at either at work or at home, if that is someone’s current workplace, but also to plan for other remembrance activities in the future once the current crisis abates.

The guidance is part of a suite of resources produced by the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force, aimed at helping people manage their grief during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Supporting each other following the death of a colleague

Care home staff and residents need support to manage their grief during Covid-19

Care home providers need to consider how they can provide support for their staff and residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, as they are likely to be experiencing significant concern and potentially grieving for residents who have died.

Covid-19 is causing thousands of deaths in UK care homes, so the British Psychological Society has launched new guidance to help staff and residents cope with this particularly frightening time.

Professor Nichola Rooney, chair of the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force, said: “We have all seen distressing news reports and figures about the experience of our care homes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Staff are doing all that they can to protect and comfort residents at an extremely distressing time, and it’s vital that managers give them the support that they need to provide this and to cope with their own grief and concerns

“I hope that this guidance is useful for care home staff, residents and their friends and family in navigating what is an unprecedented and often harrowing time.”

While staff working in a care home may have experienced residents dying before, the guidance says that this does not make each death any easier to cope with, and that staff often develop close relationships with people that they care for.

It suggests that the contagious nature of Covid-19, requiring staff to wear personal protective equipment when dealing with residents, means that some may feel they are unable to provide the comfort to people that they would want.

Care home managers can help staff by making sure that they are given regular opportunities to talk about how they’re feeling, and accommodate regular and frequent breaks. They can consider ways that staff can collectively remember residents who have died, and celebrate their lives.

Care home residents can often face a range of challenges depending on possible medical conditions, and even those in later stages of dementia will be affected by changes in the care home’s day-to-day life.

Staff need to make sure that they maintain communication with residents, even when it feels like this is always to bring sad news. They should explain why changes, such as staff having to wear PPE, are important.

The guidance should be read alongside ‘Supporting yourself and others: coping with death and grief during the Covid-19 pandemic’. They were both produced by the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force.

 

Psychologists offer advice on alternative ways to remember loved ones

The current pandemic has highlighted the importance of family and friends being able to mark the passing of loved ones, even if we can’t say goodbye in more traditional ways.

The British Psychological Society’s Covid-19 bereavement task force has released a new online leaflet, Continuing Bonds, which suggests alternative ways to help us remember friends and family who die due to the pandemic.

Funerals are currently disrupted, with the number of attendees limited in many cases due to the social distancing restrictions put in place to control the spread of the virus.

It is still important for the grieving process that we are able to mark someone’s passing, particularly if a regular funeral is not possible, and the leaflet gives six suggestions.

They include simple gestures like lighting a candle or planting a seed, alongside ways to make a lasting tribute, such as a virtual memorial, Facebook page or memory box.

Professor Nichola Rooney, chair of the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force, said: “Sadly many more people than normal are experiencing bereavement right now, and the emotional effects of this are exacerbated by us being unable to see friends and family, or have funerals in the way that we normally do.

“It’s crucial that we are able to mark the time of someone’s passing, and I hope that these straightforward suggestions help people to do that, even if it is an interim solution until larger gatherings and memorial services are possible.”

Continuing Bonds is the latest in a suite of resources produced by the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force, all of which can be viewed on our website.

Supporting each other through loss and bereavement

The British Psychological Society has published a document on helping one another to cope with death and grief, at a time when many people are experiencing the loss of a friend or family member due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

It has also released two videos, offering advice on using technology to speak to loved ones who are ill and planning your digital legacy.

Losing a loved one under any circumstances is one of the most difficult emotional experiences that we go through, and it can be even tougher at a time when we have to self-isolate and socially distance from friends and family.

The leaflet ‘Supporting yourself and others: coping with death and grief during the Covid-19 pandemic’ explains the thoughts and feelings that people are likely to experience after a loved one dies, and the changes in behaviour that may result.

It discusses how people can cope with bereavement, acknowledging that everyone deals with loss in their own way, and gives tips on what can help, including:

  • Using digital technology to keep in touch with friends and family
  • Allowing themselves time and space to grieve
  • Not rushing into decisions about possessions and personal effects
  • Trying to stick to a healthy diet and engage in some form of exercise

Straightforward advice is also available for people who are supporting a loved one through their grief.

Measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus mean that many people are unable to say goodbye in person, so the BPS has also produced a video explaining how we can use technology to talk to ill loved ones who we are unable to visit.

It launches alongside a video on digital legacy planning, as many of us store practically important and sentimentally valuable information using technological devices.

If important material is stored on password-protected devices, it’s important for people to make sure that their families are able to access material should the worst happen.

Dr Elaine Kasket, a counselling psychologist and member of the BPS’s Covid-19 bereavement task force that has produced all three resources, presents both videos.

Supporting yourself and others

Life, Death and Lilies installation returns

Project to stimulate more open discussion about dying is rolled out to four sites

A MEMORIAL Garden project aimed at stimulating more open discussion about death and dying is returning to Edinburgh – and expanding into a series of events across eastern Scotland. Continue reading Life, Death and Lilies installation returns

North Edinburgh’s ‘To Absent Friends’ festival

The Old Kirk and Muirhouse church, Drylaw Parish Church, and North Edinburgh Arts have pulled together this programme for “To Absent Friends“, for folk to talk about good life, good death, good grief.

It started yesterday with our annual ‘All Souls’ service and moves around the area for the next fortnight (see poster for details). All welcome.

Alan Fisher (The Old Kirk & Muirhouse Parish Church), Julie Crawford (North Edinburgh Arts),  Jenny Williams (Drylaw Parish Church) and Stephen Ashley-Emery (The Old Kirk & Muirhouse Parish Church).

 

Social enterprise celebrates huge milestone in fighting funeral poverty across Scotland

Scotland’s first not-for-profit funeral directors have already saved bereaved Scots £500,000 

In the light of recent findings by the National Funeral Cost Index Report 2019 that low income families are experiencing even more funeral poverty than ever, one local social enterprise has announced they are well on their way to bucking this trend.

Continue reading Social enterprise celebrates huge milestone in fighting funeral poverty across Scotland