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Correspondence to Dr Caris E Grimes, General Surgery, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, Gillingham ME7 5NY, UK; [email protected]
Introduction
Following the death of a loved one, families can be left feeling anxious, angry and isolated, particularly if the death is sudden or unexpected. Hospital-based bereavement services have been shown to improve coping, reduce isolation and enable families to feel cared for and supported.1
Formal support from health professionals positively influences the bereavement process.2 The ability to access timely and accurate information about the care given to a loved one impacts the grieving process. If caregivers are unable to access such information, the result can be feelings of abandonment and anger, which can extend long after the death of the patient.3 The ability to understand how the loss has occurred appears to reduce the risk of a prolonged and abnormal grief reaction in the bereaved. Families who seek support from hospital bereavement services do so because of clinical questions over the diagnosis, investigations, treatment and ‘what if’ scenarios, questions over the death certificate or postmortem, or because of quality of care issues such as issues around communication.4 5
There is evidence that if families are unable to obtain the answers they require or have their concerns addressed, they are more likely to make a complaint.6 Conversely, offering them the opportunity to have such concerns addressed or questions answered appears to lead to a reduction in complaints.6 Similarly, those that litigate following the death of a loved one often do so to obtain answers related the care their loved one received and to ensure that any issues related to quality of care are addressed to prevent similar incidents in future.7 8 Anecdotal evidence suggests that some coroners' inquests may be held for the same reasons. Coroners will call an inquest following surgery if the cause of death is ‘unknown’ or ‘unnatural’ and this is largely at the discretion of the coroner.9
There is evidence that bereavement services may also reduce the psychological burden on the family, including symptoms of anxiety and depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and prolonged grief reaction as well as reduce feelings of isolation and abandonment.1 10–12
Our study coincided with the publication of the UK’s National...