Nottinghamshire Hospice has launched an urgent appeal after facing unprecedented demand from grieving families. The charity currently has a waiting list of people needing its bereavement support services, and so is now asking people across the city and county to help them expand their services.
For more than 40 years, the hospice has provided care and support to those dying in the county, and they have also taken hospice services to people's homes and provided wellbeing support for patients with life limiting diagnoses. This is in addition to the bereavement services they offer, which can include emotional support sessions, 1-2-1 counselling, online group therapy and peer support groups.
This support can be provided pre or post bereavement and is available to everyone across Nottingham for free. One person who went to the hospice for help was Emma Youd, of Beeston, after her father Leroy died unexpectedly in 2021, just months after she gave birth to her daughter.
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The 32-year-old received 12 free counselling sessions from the hospice. She explained: "Dad died suddenly in 2021 and losing him came at a confusing time. I’d just given birth, so coming to terms with his death was incredibly difficult – I'd lost my dad, and my baby would never know her grandfather.
"It didn’t seem fair to lose such an important part of my life, at a time that should have been so happy. Bereavement support is a wonderful service that I’d recommend to anyone experiencing grief.
"We don’t tend to talk about death very much, but I found it really helpful to open up to someone.” Debbie Hastings, Bereavement Support Services Manager at Nottinghamshire Hospice, added: "Our Bereavement Support is a vital part of the help we give to people affected by a life-limiting diagnosis.
"Alongside our Wellbeing offer and the care we deliver in people’s homes, the psychological and emotional support we provide is a lifeline to people experiencing grief. We’ve seen more and more people reach out to us, and we know that we need to expand in order meet the needs of our community."
She continued: "By raising vital funds, we can make sure people are not left to suffer loss on their own and can take pressure off other healthcare services in Nottinghamshire.” Money raised for the hospice will be invested in the expansion of the bereavement support services.
This will include the recruitment of new counsellors and supporting volunteer counsellors, and it will also help the hospice take its bereavement services out into the community, so more people can access their help. You can find out more about the appeal and make a donation here.
