Grief & Bereavement in Northern Ireland

Overview

The Department of Health developed and finalised the report “COVID-19 Guidance: Bereavement Advice and Support” in 2021. One of the key recommendations from this report was:

“That the HSC Bereavement Network membership is expanded to become the Northern Ireland Bereavement Network, with responsibility for developing and leading the strategic bereavement plan for the next 10 years. The Northern Ireland Bereavement Network should include all relevant cross-departmental and community organisations and agencies”

As a first stage in this work, the Patient and Client Council (PCC) are taking forward in partnership, work on the development of a Bereavement Charter for NI as part of the NI Bereavement Network.

A Bereavement Charter sets out pledges to bereaved individuals and loved ones about the standards of service and care they should expect to receive following the death of a loved one.

To help us to begin the wider societal conversation needed for the development of a Bereavement Charter for NI, the PCC are running the following survey to understand what matters most to the people of Northern Ireland when considering death, bereavement and grief. This survey encompasses all experiences and is not limited to life-limiting conditions or expected deaths.

There are five open-ended questions in this survey. We would encourage you to be as open and honest as possible in your responses to this survey, all of which will be anonymised. This will ensure that charter development is more representative of our society and the communities within it.

If you would like more information on this work please contact Laura O'Neill at Laura.O'Neill@pcc-ni.net