New bereavement services open at Addenbrooke’s

New facilities for bereaved relatives open this week at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.

A dedicated space has been created near the hospital’s main reception offering rooms for relatives to meet staff and register deaths. The suite also includes a private waiting area and a bereavement care follow-up service where relatives of patients can meet clinicians to talk through questions they may have following a death.

 

Work has also been completed on a refurbishment of an existing relatives’ room in the Emergency Department. Keith Morrison, bereavement care follow-up lead, said: “We’re delighted with the new facilities. They offer a calm and relaxed setting for relatives away from clinical areas, giving us the ideal environment to offer advice and support for people going through a very difficult time.”

 

 

The project has been given financial backing and support from the Enhancing the Healing Environment programme, run by The King’s Fund – a charity which seeks to improve health services in England. Funding has also come from Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, the charity for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie, and fundraising from public and patient governors.

A local artist, Filipa Pereira-Stubbs, has advised on the décor and design of the rooms and commissioned artwork for the various spaces, including sculpture, glass art and collages. The commissions were made in response to consultation with staff and users of the bereavement service.

 

Christine Lethbridge, who lives near Hadleigh in Suffolk, has also been involved in the design process. Mrs Lethbridge and her family used the bereavement services at Addenbrooke’s following the death of her 22-year-old son, Thomas, in 2007.

 

She said: “Nothing was ever too much for them. We were always very well looked after and given all the support we needed, so I was happy to help with this project. Dealing with bereavement is a time of great distress which is why it’s important to have these services available in a sensitive environment.”

 

The new facilities near main reception have been named The Perry Suite in memory of Malcolm Perry, a governor who died recently. They will be officially opened by Dr Colin Parkes, life president of the charity Cruse Bereavement Care at 3pm on Wednesday 25 November.