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Bereavement

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  3. Bereavement

St Andrew’s Hospice delivers the North East Lincolnshire Bereavement Support Service, offering free and confidential support to adults and children who have suffered bereavement in the local area, where their loved one has received a palliative care diagnosis. We recognise that grief affects everyone differently, and that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Some people will try to cope with grief alone, or with the help of family and friends, but others may need help from a trained professional who can offer specialist support and help you navigate your feelings. Our Bereavement Support Service is here to do that.

We offer different types of bereavement support depending on your needs and circumstances. You can access our services as an individual, or as a family. Support for adults is typically provided in a group setting, with support for children generally taking place in schools. We always strive to ensure our bereavement services are delivered in the best environment for you, and that could be over-the-phone, in the hospice, at your home, or through another organisation. You could be offered our six-week ‘Coping with Grief’ programme, or we may be able to provide one-on-one counselling. The team will get to know more about your situation during your initial consultation, and this will help them identify the best pathway for you to get the most out of your bereavement support.

Due to a significant increase in referrals and growing demand for support, eligibility for our bereavement service has temporarily changed. From 15 August 2026, we will only be accepting new bereavement referrals where the person who has died had a palliative care diagnosis and/or received support from St Andrew's Hospice, Macmillan, or the Haven Team. 

Regrettably, this means we are temporarily unable to accept new referrals which do not qualify our new criteria.

This difficult decision ensures that we can maintain safe, high-quality, and timely care for families of patients who are currently under, or have been under, any of the palliative and End of Life Care Services. We are actively reviewing our capacity and hope to reopen our services to the broader community as soon as resources allow. 

We recognise that for bereaved people in the community, this decision will have a significant impact.  If you are impacted by bereavement and would like guidance on where to seek support, you are welcome to contact the hospice who will be able to signpost you to alternative support. 

If you have any questions about eligibility, please contact 01472 250623. For information about other services that can offer support, please click here.

Grief is a personal journey; it will be different for everyone and will affect people in different ways. One way of helping to process grief may be to write a letter to a loved one you have lost. 

At St Andrew’s Hospice, we have a Letters to Loved Ones post box. It is located in the Memory Garden, on the brick pillar facing the Hub. Collect some biodegradable seed paper from reception to write your letter, then post it in our box and spend some time to reflect.

The post box will be opened periodically by St Andrew’s Hospice staff and your letter will be planted to help grow vegetables, plants and flowers. If you wish to take your letter home and plant it yourself, you are more than welcome to do so.

Download our leaflet to find out more.

Grief: Looking after yourself

Helping a child through bereavement

Mental health self help guides

Directory of support services

Contact us to make a referral

We welcome referrals from individuals seeking support, families, or professionals. Referrals can be made by telephoning 01472 250623, or via this link.

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