Diana Princess of Wales Hospital Bereavement Book

Information for families and friends following a bereavement

This information has been prepared with the support of families, Trusts and other stakeholders.

Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby

V1.7 October 2021

Review date: April 2024

Introduction

If you have been given this leaflet, you have experienced the death of someone close to you. We are very sorry for your loss, and we know that this can be a very difficult and distressing time. We hope this leaflet will help you understand what you can expect from Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust. This leaflet also aims to explain what happens next; including information about how to comment on the care your loved one received, and what happens if a death will be looked into by a coroner. It also provides details of the processes involved if you have any significant concerns about the care we provided and gives you practical advice, support and information.

Contacting us

Key contact details are provided below to enable you to access further support from the Trust.

Please do get in touch with us if you want to provide comments, ask questions, or raise any concerns.

• Bereavement Office

Grimsby 0303 330 6110

• Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Grimsby 0303 330 6518

•

• Medical Examiner Office

Grimsby 0303 330 3226

Understanding what happened

As a family member, partner, friend or carer of someone who has died whilst in the care of Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust, you may have comments, questions or concerns about the care and treatment they received. You may also want to understand more about the reasons for their death. The staff that were involved in treating your loved one should usually be able to answer your initial questions. However, please do not worry if you are not ready to ask these questions straight away, or if you think of questions later - you will still have the opportunity to raise these with us (the Trust) when you are ready through the contact details described on page 3 of this booklet.

It is also important for us to know if you don’t understand any of the information we provide. Please tell us if we need to explain things more fully.

Practical information, support arrangements and counselling

We can provide you with information about bereavement support services and practical advice about the things you may need to do following bereavement. This could include:

• collecting any personal items belonging to the person who has died;

• making arrangements to see the person who has died;

• the collection of the death certificate; and

• how to register the death.

Please let us know if we can be of any help regarding these or other issues. The gov.uk website (www.gov.uk/after-a-death) also provides practical information on what to do following a death.

We also know that the death of a loved one can be very traumatic for families. This can be even more so when concerns have been raised, or when a family is involved in an investigation process. Some families have found that counselling or having someone else to talk to can be very beneficial. You may want to discuss this with your GP, who can refer you to local support. Alternatively, there may be other local or voluntary organisations that provide counselling support that you would prefer to access. Some examples of organisations that may be able to help you are included later in this leaflet.

Useful contact details are included here to support you further from the Trust:

• Bereavement Office

Grimsby 0303 330 6110

• Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

Grimsby 0303 330 6518

• Trust Mortuary Services

Grimsby 0303 330 4591

• Chaplaincy Office

Contact main Hospital switchboard on 0303 330 6999 and ask for chaplain on call for Grimsby or Scunthorpe.

Local/regional organisations

• AGE UK: A national organisation for older people.

• Age UK North East Lincolnshire:

Tel: (01472) 344976,

Email: admin@ageuknelincs.org.uk, or Email: reception@ageuknelincs.org.uk

• Age UK North Lincolnshire:

Barton upon Humber:

Tel: (01652) 636208,

Email: info@ageuknorthlincs.org.uk

• Cruse Bereavement Care:

Tel: 0808 808 1677 (National).

• DWP Bereavement Service Helpline:

Tel: 0800 151 2012 (National).

• Local Citizens Advice Bureau:

Tel: 03444 111444 (National).

Grimsby: Tel: (01472) 252 500 (Local).

Scunthorpe: Tel: (01724) 870 941 (Local).

National organisations

• Action against Medical Accidents (‘AvMA’): An independent national charity that specialises in advising people who have been affected by lapses in patient safety (‘medical accidents’). It offers free advice on NHS investigations; complaints; inquests; health professional regulation and legal action regarding clinical negligence. Most advice is provided via its helpline or in writing but individual ‘advocacy’ may also be arranged. It can also refer to other specialist sources of advice, support and advocacy or specialist solicitors where appropriate.

www.avma.org.uk - 0845 123 2352

• Advocacy after Fatal Domestic Abuse: Specialises in guiding families through inquiries including domestic homicide reviews and mental health reviews, and assists with and represent on inquests, Independent Office for Police Conduct (IPOC) inquiries and other reviews.

www.aafda.org.uk - 07887 488 464

• The Bereavement Advice Centre: A very helpful source of advice including a database of various organisations offering support to the bereaved. Tel: 0800 6349494.

Website: www.bereavementadvice.org

• Child Bereavement UK: Supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child or young person (up to age 25) is facing bereavement.

This includes supporting adults to support a bereaved child or young person. All support is free, confidential, has no time limit, and includes face to face sessions and booked telephone support. www.childbereavementuk.org0800 028 8840.

• Child Death Helpline: Provides a freephone helpline for anyone affected by a child’s death, from pre-birth to the death of an adult child, however recently or long ago and whatever the circumstances of the death and uses a translation service to support those for whom English is not a first language. Volunteers who staff the helpline are all bereaved parents, although supported and trained by professionals. www.childdeathhelpline.org.uk0800 282 986.

• Cruse Bereavement Care: Offers free confidential support for adults and children when someone dies. Contact us by telephone, email or face-to-face. www.cruse.org.uk0808 808 1677. Grimsby: Tel: 01472 432000; Scunthorpe: Tel: 01724 628000.

• Hundred Families: Offers support, information and practical advice for families bereaved by people with mental health problems, including information on health service investigations. www.hundredfamilies.org

• INQUEST: Provides free and independent advice to bereaved families on investigations, inquests and other legal processes following a death in custody and detention. This includes deaths in mental health settings. Further information is available on its website including a link to ‘The INQUEST Handbook: A Guide for Bereaved Families, Friends and Advisors’. www.inquest.org.uk - 020 726 3111 option 1

• National Survivor User Network: Is developing a network of mental health service users and survivors to strengthen user voice and campaign for improvements. It also has a useful page of links to user groups and organisations that offer counselling and support. www.nsun.org.uk

• Patients Association: Provides advice, support and guidance to family members with a national helpline providing specialist information, advice and signposting. This does not include medical or legal advice. It can also help you make a complaint to the CQC.

www.patients-association.org.uk - 0800 345 7115

• Respond: Supports people with learning disabilities and their families and supporters to lessen the effect of trauma and abuse, through psychotherapy, advocacy and campaigning.

www.respond.org.uk

• Sands: Supports those affected by the death of a baby before, during and shortly after birth, providing a bereavement support helpline, a network of support groups, an online forum and message board.

www.sands.org.uk - 0808 164 3332

• Support after Suicide Partnership: Provides helpful resources for those bereaved by suicide and signposting to local support groups and organisations.

www.supportaftersuicide.org.uk

The “Do’s and Don’ts” of grief

Don’t Hide your feelings: try to bring out into the open whatever you are feeling. This is central to the work of grief.

Don’t Rush into having the funeral right away unless it is the practice of your culture. Also, don’t be persuaded to have an expensive funeral – it is worth spending a little time speaking with more than one funeral director.

Don’t Make any immediate major life changing decisions while you are still grieving. Give yourself time to think about changes and talk about your plan with others.

Don’t Neglect yourself. Make sure you eat well and get plenty of rest.

Don’t Enter into any financial or legal arrangements, unless you fully understand them.

Don’t Hurry yourself to overcome your grief – every person reacts differently with grief and there is no set time to come to terms with your loss.

Don’t Turn to alcohol, smoking or drugs to stop you feeling the pain of grief.

Do

Do

Do

Do

Do

Express your feelings as much as possible.

Contact one of the voluntary organisations (details in this booklet) if you would like someone to talk to.

Begin to make longer term plans for the future so you have something to look forward to. Remember not to rush into any major life changes.

Contact your doctor if you feel unwell or would like your doctor to refer you to someone to talk to.

Keep in touch with friends and family. Most people will feel honoured to be asked for help. Some people may feel awkward or embarrassed about offering their help or speaking about your loss, so it may be up to you to open the communication with them. Even though this may be difficult for you it will help.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What should I do if I have concerns about my relative or friend’s treatment contributing to their death?

Please speak to your named contact at the Trust, the staff involved in the treatment of your loved one, or the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). If necessary, you can ask for an investigation. If you wish to make a formal complaint, either to the Trust directly or to the relevant Integrated Care Board (ICB)please see page 22.

The Medical Examiners

The Medical Examiner provides an independent service that reviews medical records of all deaths in the hospital which are not referred to a Coroner.

The service has been introduced following the reforms to 2009 Coroners and Justice Act and several NHS public inquiries. The purpose of the service is to ensure the accuracy of Medical Certification of Causes of Death (MCCDs) and that any referrals to the Coroner are appropriate.

The Medical Examiner’s Officer will have a conversation with the bereaved about the cause of death, answer any questions and gather any feedback you may have.

You can expect them to contact you following the death of your loved one.

The Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (MCCD)

The Bereavement Officers liaise with the doctors and ward staff to obtain the MCCD (and any other necessary papers) in a timely manner. The officers will then contact you to confirm this has been completed.

The Bereavement Office at Grimsby is situated by the Hospital Chapel and can be accessed via the Ground floor near the main lifts. They can be contacted on Grimsby 0303 330 6110.

When the MCCD is complete, the Bereavement Office will notify you. You will then need to make an appointment with the Registrars. The MCCD will be sent directly to the Registrars. This may be delayed if the coroner has been informed of the death.

What happens about the belongings of your loved one?

Your loved one’s belongings are safely stored on the ward where they passed away. The family can collect the belongings and any valuable items that are stored in the safe on the ward. The next of kin would need to collect and sign for them.

How do I register the death?

You will need to register the death at the North East Lincolnshire Register Office. You can only register a death when:

• The Bereavement Office has sent the MCCD (medical certificate of cause of death), electronically, to the Register Office

• The Registrar has telephoned you back to book the appointment

• You have received confirmation from the Coroner that you can register, and the Registrar has all the necessary paperwork

Please do not turn up without an appointment as it is likely the registration won’t be completed

Contact details for the register office are:

North East Lincolnshire Register Office, Cleethorpes Town Hall, Knoll Street, Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, DN35 8LN

Telephone: 01472 326295 (Option 1)

The death must be registered within five working days of the death occurring. If there is likely to be a delay, please contact the register office to advise them.

Who can register a death?

It is usual for a relative of the family member who has died to register the death. If there are no relatives available, then in certain circumstances, it is possible for other people to register the death. For example, someone who was present at the death, or the person who is responsible for organising and paying for the funeral.

The Registrar will contact the person whose details are shared by the hospital / doctor / coroner. They will ensure the person who attends to register is able to do so.

What information do I need to give the registrar about the deceased?

• The date and place of death

• Their full name and any other names they are known by, or have been known by, including their maiden surname

• Their date and place of birth

• Their last occupation (if the deceased is married, widowed, or has a registered civil partnership, the full name and occupation of their spouse or civil partner)

• Their usual address

• The date of birth of surviving spouse or civil partner

• Details of any public sector pensions, e.g. civil service, teacher or armed forces

What information will you need to give the Registrar about yourself as the person registering?

• Your relationship to the deceased for example, son, daughter, widow, widower, niece, nephew, surviving civil partner

• Your full name

• Your usual address

• Whether you were present at the death

What documents will you need when registering a death?

The Registrar will already have received the appropriate paperwork from the Bereavement Office or the Coroner. It would also be helpful to know:

• The deceased’s date of birth

• Their marital status, spouse’s full name and occupation

• NHS Number (not NI number)

You do not have to bring documentary evidence of this information, but if you have it, it is useful to avoid a correction, for which a fee is payable.

What documents will the registrar give me?

After the information has been recorded in the register of deaths, the Registrar will issue the necessary forms and certificates. If a post-mortem is not being held, the Registrar will give you:

• A Certificate for Burial or Cremation – called the Green Form, giving permission for the body to be buried or for an application for cremation to be made

• If the deceased is to be buried or cremated outside England and Wales, the coroner will issue the necessary forms

Obtaining the Death Certificate

• The original death certificate is the register entry made by the Registrar and signed by you at the appointment. This must remain within the office. You can purchase “certified copies”, which are your originals. A charge is made for each certificate.

• Please discuss with the Registrar your requirements and they will guide you on an appropriate number that you may need to take. You can always re-order additional certificates online at Order a birth, marriage or death certificate | NELC (nelincs.gov.uk)

The registrar will also offer you the opportunity to use the Tell Us Once Service. This is a free service which notifies a number of government and local authority departments of the death. This means you don’t have to make lots of telephone calls at this difficult time.

Forms for which you will be charged a fee

The certified copies of the death entry do attract a fee. You may need extra copies in order to apply for probate, or for use with banks, post offices, building societies, insurance companies or private pension providers. The registrar will advise you of the current fee for each certificate when you make your appointment to register the death. There may be a higher fee to pay for copies of the entry if requested after the date of registration.

What if I want to arrange a cremation?

If possible, inform the Bereavement Officer or Medical Examiners Officer (this can save time in getting the appropriate forms signed). Alternatively, tell the funeral director of your wishes as soon as possible.

If cremation follows the funeral, the crematorium can take care of the cremated remains (ashes). However, it is best to speak with your funeral director for advice about the alternatives.

When can I contact a funeral director?

As soon after the death as you wish, even before you obtain the death certificate. While the funeral director will need the green form before arrangements can be made, they will be able to give you help and advice immediately.

When do I contact a minister / vicar or religious leader?

As soon as you wish to. He or she will be happy to help you through your grief and will also be able to help you with funeral preparations.

The Hospital Chaplains will also be pleased to support you at the time of bereavement. The Bereavement Officer will be able to contact a Chaplain for you, or you can contact the Chaplains through the hospital switchboard on 0303 330 6999 and ask for the Pastoral and Spiritual Care Department.

What if the death you are concerned with has been reported to the coroner?

All deaths in the hospital will be reviewed either by an independent Medical Examiner and/or a coroner. The Medical Examiner is usually an independent senior doctor who reviews all in-hospital deaths. A coroner is a qualified lawyer who is responsible for inquiring into deaths in certain circumstances. These include all sudden deaths where the medical cause is unknown, or thought to be unnatural (for example, as the result of an accident). The Medical Examiners Officers will tell you if the death has been reported to the coroner. In such cases, there may be a delay in issuing the medical certificate of cause of death.

However, once a death has been referred to the Coroner the requirement to register the death within 5 days no longer applies. Ordinarily, you will be contacted by a coroner’s officer to speak with you personally and to explain the procedure.

Where a death has not been referred to the Coroner the medical staff may request a ‘hospital’ post mortem examination and, if you agree, you will be requested to sign a form.

Who orders a post mortem or inquest?

In some cases, when a death has been referred to the coroner’s office, the coroner may order a ‘coroners’ post mortem examination to find out how the person died. Legally, a post mortem must be carried out if the cause of death is potentially unnatural or unknown. The coroner knows this can be a very difficult situation for families and will only carry out a post mortem after careful consideration. A family can appeal this in writing to the coroner, giving their reasons, and should let the coroner know they intend to do this as soon as possible. However, a coroner makes the final decision, and if necessary, can order a post mortem even when a family does not agree. Please note that the body of your loved one will not be released for burial or cremation until it is completed, although a coroner will do their best to minimise any delay to funeral arrangements. You can speak directly to the local coroner’s office about having a post mortem and / or inquest.

What should I do if I think the treatment was negligent and deserving of compensation?

Neither patient safety investigations nor complaints will establish liability or deal with compensation, but they can help you decide what to do next. You may wish to seek independent advice from Action against Medical Accidents (see the section on ‘Independent information, advice and advocacy’). They can put

you in touch with a specialist lawyer if appropriate. Please note: There is a three-year limitation period for taking legal action.

What should I do if I think individual health professionals’ poor practice contributed to the death and remains a risk to other patients?

Lapses in patient safety are almost always due to system failures rather than individuals. However, you may be concerned that individual health professionals contributed to the death of your loved one and remain a risk. If this is the case, you can raise your concerns with us, or go directly to one of the independent health professional regulators listed on page 5.

Where can I get independent advice and support about raising concerns?

Please see the section on independent information, advice and advocacy, which details a range of organisations. Other local organisations may also be able to help.

Reviews of deaths in our care

Case note reviews (or case record reviews) are carried out in different circumstances. Firstly, case note reviews are routinely carried out by NHS Trusts on a proportion of all their deaths to learn, develop and improve healthcare, as well as when a problem in care may be suspected.

A clinician (usually a doctor), will look carefully at their case notes. They will look at each aspect of their care and how well it was provided.

Secondly, we also carry out case note reviews when a significant concern is raised with us about the care we provided to a patient. We consider a ‘significant concern’ to mean:

(a) any concerns raised by the family that cannot be answered at the time; or

(b) anything that is not answered to the family’s satisfaction, or which does not reassure them.

This may happen when a death is sudden, unexpected, untoward, or accidental. When a significant concern has been raised with the Trust, we will undertake a case note review for your loved one, and share our findings with you. If you have any such concerns, please contact the Trust to let us know, and a case note review will be requested to be undertaken.

Aside from case note reviews, there are specific processes and procedures that Trusts need to follow if your loved one had a learning disability; is a child; died in a maternity setting; or as a result of a serious mental health condition.

Investigations

In a small percentage of cases, there may be concerns that the death could be related to a patient safety incident. A patient safety incident is an error or omission, which could have, or did, lead to harm for one or more patients receiving healthcare. Where there is an indication that a patient safety incident contributed to a patient’s death, a safety investigation would be undertaken. The purpose of a safety investigation is to find out what happened and why. This is to identify any potential learning or changes to the way we work which may reduce the risk of something similar happening to any other patients in the future. The Trust commonly refers to such a process as a Serious Incident (or SI) investigation.

If an SI investigation is to be held, we would assign a contact person, a Family Liaison, to talk you through what is known to explain the process to you. We would also ask you about how, and when, you would like to be involved, whether you had any questions we could include in the Terms of Reference (the topics that will be looked at) for the investigation. Investigations may be carried out internally, or by external investigators, depending on the circumstances.

In some cases, an investigation may involve more care providers than just Northern Lincolnshire & Goole NHS Foundation Trust. For example, your loved one may have received care from several organisations (that have raised potential concern). In these circumstances, this will be explained to you, and you will be told which organisation is acting as the lead investigator.

You would be kept up to date on the progress of the investigation and be invited to contribute. After the final report has been signed off, the Trust will offer to make arrangements to meet with you to further discuss the findings of the investigation.

You may find it helpful to get independent advice about taking part in investigations and other options open to you. Some people will also benefit from having an independent advocate to accompany them to meetings etc. Please see details of independent organisations that may be able to help, documented later in this leaflet. You are welcome to bring a friend, relative or advocate with you to any meetings.

Where the death of a patient is associated with an unexpected or unintended incident during a patient’s care, staff must follow the Duty of Candour Regulation / Policy (www.cqc.org.uk/guidanceproviders/all-services/regulation-20-duty-candour).

AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents, www.avma.org.uk) has also produced information for families on Duty of Candour which is endorsed by the Care Quality Commission.

Coroners’ inquests

Some deaths are referred to the coroner, for example where the cause of death is unknown, or the death occurred in violent or unnatural circumstances. When a death is referred to the coroner they may request a post mortem examination. The coroner will then decide whether an inquest is required, to establish the cause of the death. An inquest is a ‘fact finding’ exercise which normally aims to determine the circumstances of someone’s death.

We will inform you if we have referred the death to the coroner. If we do not refer a death to the coroner, but you have concerns about the treatment provided, you should raise these with the treating medical practitioner. If a referral is still not made, you can ask the coroner to consider holding an inquest yourself. It is a good idea to do this as soon as you are able after your loved one has died, as delays in requesting an inquest may mean that any opportunities for the coroner to hold a post mortem are lost.

We can provide you with contact details for the appropriate coroner’s office.

If you are seeking or involved in an inquest, you may wish to find further independent information, advice or support. There are details of organisations that can advise on the process, including how you can obtain legal representation, at the end of this leaflet.

Providing feedback, raising concerns and/or making a complaint

Providing feedback: We want to hear your thoughts about your loved one’s care. Receiving feedback from families helps us to understand (i) the things we are doing right and need to continue; and (ii) the things we need to improve upon.

Raising concerns: It is also very important to us that you feel able to ask any questions or raise any concerns regarding the care your loved one received. In the first instance, the team that cared for your loved one should be able to respond to these. After this, our Patient Advice Liaison Service (PALS) or our Bereavement Team will be able to help, and their contact details are included on page 3.

Making a complaint: We hope that we will be able to respond to any questions or concerns that you have. Additionally, you can raise concerns as a complaint, at any point. If you do this we will ensure that we respond, in an accessible format (followed by a response in writing where appropriate to your needs), to the issues you have raised.

The NHS Complaints Regulations (www.legislation.gov.uk) state a complaint must be made within 12 months of the incident happening, or within 12 months of you realising you have something to complain about.

However, if you have a reason for not complaining to us sooner, we will review your complaint and decide whether it would still be possible to fairly and reasonably investigate.

If we decide not to investigate in these circumstances, you can contact the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman PHSO (www.ombudsman.org.uk).

Please note you do not have to wait until an investigation is complete before you complain - both processes can be carried out at the same time. For example, a complaint can trigger an investigation, if it brings to light problems in the care that were not previously known about. However, if both the complaint and investigation are looking at similar issues, a complaint could be paused until the associated investigation is complete.

If you are not happy with the response to a complaint, you have the right to refer the case to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman. PHSO has produced ‘My expectations for raising concerns and complaints’ for users of health services, and this document sets out what one should expect from the complaints process (www.ombudsman.org.uk/publications/myexpectations-raising-concerns-and-complaints).

Please see the frequently asked questions (FAQs) section at the end of this leaflet for more information on what to do if you are not happy with the responses you receive from us.

Independent information, advice and advocacy

If you raise any concerns regarding the treatment we gave your loved one, we will provide you with information and support; and do our best to answer the questions you have. However, we understand that it can be very helpful for you to have independent advice. We have included details below of where you can find independent specialist advice to support an investigation into your specific concerns. These organisations can also help ensure that medical or legal terms are explained to you.

Some of the independent organisations may be able to find you an ‘advocate’ if you need support when attending meetings. They may also direct you to other advocacy organisations that have more experience of working with certain groups of people, such as people with learning disabilities, mental health issues, or other specialist needs.

The list below does not include every organisation but the ones listed should either be able to help you themselves, or refer you to other specialist organisations best suited to addressing your needs.

In addition all local authorities (councils) should provide an independent health complaints advocacy service, which is independent of the Trust, that people can access free of charge. If you would like to use this service, please contact them on (01924) 454975 or enquiries@cloverleaf-advocacy.co.uk.

We may also be able to provide you with details of other organisations and services that provide local support, and if relevant, we would be happy to talk these through with you.

Other organisations that may be of help:

• Integrated Care Boards (ICBs): Integrated Care Boards pay for and monitor services provided by NHS Trusts. Complaints can be made to the relevant ICB instead of the Trust, if you prefer. Please ask us for contact details of the relevant ICB(s), or visit

www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/find-your-local-integrated-careboard

• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO): The PHSO makes final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by the NHS in England and UK government departments. They share findings from their casework to help parliament scrutinise public service providers. They also share their findings more widely to help drive improvements in public services and complaint handling. If you are not satisfied with the response to a complaint, you can ask the PHSO to investigate.

www.ombudsman.org.uk - 0345 015 4033

• Care Quality Commission (CQC): The CQC is the regulator for health and social care in England. The CQC is interested in hearing about concerns as general intelligence on the quality of services, but please note that they do not investigate individual complaints. Visit:

www.cqc.org.uk

• National Reporting and Learning System (NRLS): Members of the public can report patient safety incidents to the NRLS. This is a database of incidents administered by NHS Improvement, which is used to identify patient safety issues that need to be addressed. Please note though that reports are not investigated or responded to.

www.england.nhs.uk/patient-safety/report-patient-safetyincident/

• NHS England – Specialised Services: Specialised services support people with a range of rare and complex conditions. They often involve treatments provided to patients with rare cancers, genetic disorders or complex medical or surgical conditions. Unlike most healthcare, which is planned and arranged locally, specialised services are planned nationally and regionally by NHS England. If you wish to raise a concern regarding any specialised services commissioned in your area, please contact NHS England’s contact centre in the first instance. Email: england.contactus@nhs.net or telephone 0300 311 22 33

• Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC): The NMC is the nursing and midwifery regulator for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It has a Public Support Service that puts patients, families and the general public at the centre of their work. More information can be found within the ‘Concerns about nurses or midwives’ section on their website: www.nmc.org.uk

• General Medical Council (GMC): The GMC maintains the official register of medical practitioners within the United Kingdom. Its statutory purpose is to protect, promote and maintain the health and safety of the public. It controls entry to the register, and suspends or removes members when necessary. Its website includes ‘Guides for patients and the public’, which will help you decide which organisation is best placed to help you. More information can be found within the ‘Concerns’ section at: www.gmc-uk.org

• Healthcare Safety Investigations Branch (HSIB): HSIB’s purpose is to improve safety through effective and independent investigations that do not apportion blame or liability. HSIB’s investigations are for patient safety learning purposes. Anyone can share cases with HSIB for potential investigation (but an investigation is not guaranteed).

Website: www.hsib.org.uk

Acknowledgement and thanks

The NHS is very grateful to everyone who has contributed to the development of this information. In particular, they would like to thank all of the families who very kindly shared their experiences, expertise and feedback to help develop this resource.

This information has been produced in parallel with ‘Learning from Deaths - Guidance for NHS Trusts on working with bereaved families and carers’, which can be found at their website at www.england.nhs.uk/publication/learning-from-deathsinformation-for-families

Future updates to this information

Please note that this information will be updated in the future as a result of new guidance and process changes.

This information can be made available in alternative formats, such as easy read or large print, and may be available in alternative languages, upon request.

Please contact the Trust’s Bereavement team on: Grimsby 0303 330 6110.

Reference: Diana Princess of Wales Hospital

Publication date: Jan 2024

The Hospital would like to thank RNS Publications for publishing this information and the following pages contain some features from services o ering their help at this time.

Whilst the Hospital is grateful of their support it does not endorse or recommend any of the services that they provide.

It is distressing to deal with a bereavement and unsolicited mail can be insensitive and destructive during a grieving process.

By scanning the below QR code on your phone or visiting www.stopmail.co.uk, we are able to securely share this information with mailing organisations and under the Data Protection Act the information will not be used for any other purpose.

Other benefits reduce the possibility of identity fraud, such as assumed identity and you will only have to supply the information once.

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A service from caring professionals

Our funeral homes provide the best facilities including private arrangement rooms and peaceful chapels of rest.

We also provide a funeral dividend during this difficult time of bereavement.

246 Corporation Road, Grimsby, DN31 2QB

T: 01472 242 444

1 King Street, Market Rasen, LN8 3BB

T: 01673 842 788

134 Eastgate, Louth, LN11 9AA

T: 01507 603 519

lincolnshire.coop

Do you need help with

You may need help, support or advice on what to do when someone dies in relation to probate.

Freephone: 0808 168 5181

Mobiles: 0333 240 0360

We offer free guidance and advice on the legal and financial aspects of bereavement including your responsibilities and whether probate is required.

Calls are free from most land lines, some calls may be monitored for training purposes and all calls are confidential. This service is provided by the Bereavement Support Network Ltd.

way you want to

If youare reading this adverttoday because youhave, or areexpecting to lose aloved one,please accept our sincerecondolences.

We will not patronise youbytrying to tell you that youare not entering one of the most di cult stages of your life,and that it will all be better soon.

What we will tell youisthis...

...you do not have to do this alone,atany time,day or night if youfeel the need for guidance,help and understanding, from an impartial, empathetic team, please call. We are not here to question your situation or the circumstances surrounding it. We are here to help and guide youevery stepofthe way,weknowyou maybescared, upset, and maybe even confused by what is going on in your life but please,don’t let that stop youmaking the call. We are never more than that one call away (01472) 506350.

As an Independent Funeral Home,with many years experience within the funeral profession, our high level of service and professional attitude, paired with our compassion towards the many people we guide through the trauma of funeral arranging makes us one of the most approachable funeral directors in the area.

Our promise to youisthat youand your family will receive the best possible care and the best possible service,delivered with the best possible attention to detail. It is not our policy to tryand sell you something youdonot want or youdonot need.

With this in mind we guarantee to provide a comprehensive and compassionate service regardless of race,faith or culture,without hesitation, pressure or prejudice,our understanding is yours without question.