There for you for as long as you need us

Our bereavement services are available for families of our patients, to help them cope with their feelings of grief and loss. These services include face to face counselling with qualified counsellors or for those who just need to talk. We run bereavement groups at our Hospice Centre where families can share their experiences and support one another. We know groups don’t suit everyone, and so if you need somebody to listen, we have a team of counsellors who are at the end of the phone.

If you don’t want or need regular support, you can come along to our Coffee Mornings. There is a service available throughout the year and is held the second Wednesday each month.

Our Welfare Rights Advisor, Katie, can also help and advise on entitlement to bereavement benefits.

When someone they love dies, children can find it difficult to cope. They often have confusing emotions and struggle to talk about how they are feeling.  Without the right support, children can become withdrawn and develop problems like bed wetting and anxiety. City Hospice offers a free bereavement service for children affected by the death of a parent or grandparent, who has been under our care. We can help prepare them for the death before it happens and support them to come to terms with their feelings afterwards.

Lily, aged 10, attends our Children’s Bereavement group. With our support she is learning to cope with her mum’s death. She said:

“Since coming to the group I no longer feel scared and I’ve learned to be happy.”

Caring for someone you love can take its toll. It’s important that you have time and space to unwind and look after yourself. We offer Reflexology to patients and their carers to help them do just that. Reflexology appointments take place at the hospice centre and you can ask the Clinical Nurse Specialist looking after your loved one, or your City Hospice Counsellor to refer you.

Our counselling services offer patients and families the opportunity to talk about their situation and diagnosis and their emotions surrounding it. Often the sessions will take place individually but it is possible to meet with our Counsellors as a family, ensuring that everyone can share their feelings, be heard and understood and support each other through this very difficult time.

Because you are a carer you may be entitled to Carers Allowance.  This allows a carer to continue to work but also have the flexibility to fulfil their caring role.  You may also be entitled to a range of means tested benefits.  Our Welfare Rights Advisor can support you with these claims.

Your employment rights as a carer are: the right to request flexible working, time off for dependants, unpaid parental leave and annual leave and pay.  Our Welfare Rights Advisor can advise you on your employment rights and help you access appropriate support if you need it.

We refer carers to the local authority for a Carers Assessment to ensure they are accessing the correct support.  This may result in a support plan being put in place to help you by providing services directly to you, the person you are caring for, or a combination of both.

The local authority can provide services themselves, or arrange services through another organisation.  Alternatively you or the person you are looking after can request Direct Payments which are payments which enable you to buy services to meet your eligible needs.