Compassionate and caring staff across the NHS in the North West are putting patients and their families first during the hardest times in their lives and ensuring end of life care is everyone’s business.

National Grief Awareness Week runs from 1 – 8 December this year and the Good Grief Trust want to raise awareness of the impact of grief, normalise it and get the public talking, to each other and about bereavement generally.

In the North West we have some award-winning and nationally recognised End-of-Life and Bereavement teams, working to ensure that those at the end of their lives, as well as their families and loved ones are provided with wrap-around support.

The SWAN model of end-of-life and bereavement care, was founded at Salford Royal, spearheaded by Assistant Director of Nursing Fiona Murphy MBE, and is now used across the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust (which brings together Salford Royal, Royal Oldham, Rochdale Infirmary and Fairfield General) and has since been adapted and used at other NHS Trusts around the UK.

The SWAN model supports and guides the care of patients and their loved ones at the end of life and after they have died. From handprints, memory boxes and support for those who are bereaved, the Palliative Care and Bereavement Services know that they only have one chance to get it right.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when family and friends weren’t allowed to be with their loved ones at the end of their lives, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust founded the Cygnet Team, who ensured that no patient died alone.

The Cygnet team has since been named the Innovation Champion at this year’s Greater Manchester Health and Care Champion Awards.

The purpose of the Cygnets is to work with the SWAN nurses in delivering End of Life and Bereavement Care in multiple settings across hospital and community services, and to care for people approaching their last days of life, keeping them comfortable.

Families and friends could rest assured that in the hardest of times their loved ones were not alone.

Fiona Murphy MBE, Director of Nursing, palliative, end-of-life, bereavement and chaplaincy at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said: “I am so very proud of the Swan Model of care for end of life and bereavement. We are providing care that is patient and family focused and we continually evolve thanks to our patient, family and staff feedback.

“Our palliative care, bereavement and chaplaincy teams ensure that end of life care is everyone’s business.

“We have seen such outstanding care and compassion from our teams during the pandemic, with colleagues doing whatever was possible – within the restrictions we had – to safely support our end of life patients and their loves ones. We only get one chance to get this right.”

The SWAN model has been replicated across the UK, and earlier this year Jackie Brunton who is Lead Nurse for End of Life and Bereavement Care at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was named ‘Nurse of the Year’ at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins Awards.

Jackie said: “However hard the times have been our teams stepped up and stepped in to try and comfort and reassure loved ones they were not alone. I am incredibly proud to work within the NHS and to be a nurse – and never more so than now.

“During National Grief Awareness Week we want to encourage people to make connections and help raise awareness of grief and the support available, it is often the small things we can do for each other that make a difference.

“This year the awareness week is promoting the benefits of activities including stopping for a chat, checking in on neighbours, putting the kettle on and going for a walk-and-talk.”

At Ormskirk Hospital, every December, the chaplaincy and bereavement midwives hold a memorial service for anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby or child. This year the service will be held at West Lancashire Crematorium.

There will be a Christmas tree of remembrance, and parents will be invited to put baubles with the name of their baby or child to be remembered with love on the tree. The baubles will later be moved to the baby garden at Ormskirk hospital.

 

ENDS

 

Case studies

Jackie Brunton and the SWAN team at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Jackie Brunton is Lead Nurse for End of Life and Bereavement Care at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Earlier this year she was named ‘Nurse of the Year’ at the national Who Cares Wins Awards.

It is an honour to be asked to support the NHS England campaign for National Grief Week.

The loss of a loved one is a difficult experience under any situation, however experiencing loss during the pandemic has been extremely distressing for patients, those bereaved and for all the teams and services supporting them.

None of us ever thought we would face not having families together and being able to see loved ones during some of their hardest moments. The visiting restrictions in place have been some of the toughest consequences of the pandemic.

I along with anyone reading this will say this will never have felt easy and will never leave us. However hard the times have been our teams stepped up and stepped in to try and comfort and reassure loved ones they were not alone. I am incredibly proud to work within the NHS and to be a nurse – and never more so than now.

Our teams at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, like others, have been incredible. We often refer to ourselves as a family and at times we felt we spent more time with each other than our ‘real’ families. The support we provided each other during these tough times will also remain with me and continues to be something we treasure as times continue to be difficult.

We have all been affected by loss both in our work and so many in our own personal lives. Our teams were this incredible support. During the early weeks of the pandemic our palliative care, end of life, psychology, chaplaincy and some invaluable redeployed staff joined forces to work together to ensure we were able to support our teams in the care of our patients and families.

The Trust created spaces for staff to seek some time away from the wards and one of the areas is now a permanent legacy. Our Blue Skies Hospital Charity along with NHS Charities enabled us to work quickly to refurbish this dedicated bereavement suite area which is now available for our families and our staff.

We have always been overwhelmed by the generosity and support we have had and to have this facility permanently makes such a difference. I am most proud that we are now able to ensure that we now have a permanent specialist bereavement team, our Swan Team, and have expanded our specialist palliative care team to enable a seven-day service and all making a real difference.

During National Grief Awareness Week we want to encourage people to make connections and help raise awareness of grief and the support available, it is also often the small things we can do for each other that make a difference. This year the awareness week is promoting the benefits of activities including stopping for a chat, checking in on neighbours, putting the kettle on and going for a walk-and-talk.

We are focusing on continuing to look after each other as we face a continued pressure across our services. For our community to know we are here to support them is important.

Please take the opportunity to show your support and remember loved ones by lighting a candle. We would love you all to join in and seek out what may be happening locally, to join the social media campaigns and also reach out to your colleagues, families and friends.

Blackpool Tower is among the national landmarks being lit up orange as a symbol of our community’s togetherness this year. Take care and thank you for all you do.

The Cygnet team at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust

The Cygnet Team was developed as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With restrictions in place, families and friends weren’t able to visit loved ones in hospitals and care homes resulting in people dying alone.

The Cygnets were recruited across a variety of services that were no longer able to function, including medical students and volunteers.

Passionate about supporting end of life care throughout the pandemic, the team provided essential and compassionate care and support for people as they approached the last days of life.

Each Cygnet carried a backpack with everything needed to fulfil their role and facilitate memory making, comfort, faith, and cultural beliefs.

Cygnets have spent time reading at the bedside of patients who are at the end of life, held their hands and on occasion have used a patient’s favourite tipple to carry out mouthcare.

The purpose of the Cygnets is to work with the SWAN nurses in delivering End of Life and Bereavement Care in multiple settings across hospital and community services.

To care for people approaching the last days of life to help keep people comfortable through fundamentals of care and aid symptom control.

Ultimately give control to the dying patient and their family through compassionate care.

Complex difficult conversations can be done with compassion with the right approaches using modern technology and journals to capture memories for family.

A Cygnet’s backpack includes:

• Organza Bags & Ribbon– Locks of hair
• Knitted Hearts – to stay with the person dying and one for the relative / close friend
• Ink Pad & Paper – Handprints etc.
• Comfort packs for male & females
• Stethoscope for verification of death / pen torch
• Alcohol wipes – all equipment to be cleaned after each contact
• Memory Journals & message cards
• Religious & end of life care resource boxes available on every ward and in the resource rooms on each site

Ormskirk Hospital Baby and Child Remembrance Service

At Ormskirk Hospital, every December the chaplaincy and bereavement midwives hold a memorial service for anyone who has experienced the loss of a baby or child.

Because of ongoing Coronavirus restrictions, the usual service is not possible in the hospital’s baby garden.

Instead, the service will be held at West Lancashire crematorium and will be led by members of the hospital team accompanied by the Salvation Army Band and local singers.

There will be a Christmas tree of remembrance, and parents will be invited to put baubles with the name of their baby or child to be remembered with love on the tree. The baubles will later be moved to the baby garden at Ormskirk hospital.

Please contact the spiritual care and chaplaincy team if you would like to write the name of your loved one on a bauble and hang it on the tree in the baby garden at Ormskirk hospital or the garden of reflection at Southport hospital. Email soh-tr.chaplains@nhs.net or call 01704 704639. Alternatively, you can contact Jo Unsworth, Bereavement Midwife at joanneunsworth@nhs.net or call 01704 705358.

The service, remembering a loss at any time, will take place at West Lancashire crematorium on Wednesday 8 December at 6.30pm. There will be light refreshments on arrival.