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The ICCM Journal | Summer 2021 | V89 No. 2
in touch Summertime, and the living is easy…… Well, maybe not exactly easy, but becoming easier as lockdown restrictions are being lifted across the nations of the UK. In England it is anticipated that the final step in the Government’s road map out of the pandemic, Step 4, will be implemented on 21st June. At this stage, legal limits on the number of people who can meet will be removed, all businesses will be able to reopen, holidays at home and abroad can be taken, and, importantly for our sector, there will be no legal limits on life events. Will this mean that life can return to ‘normal’? Probably not. The virus won’t have gone away by June, and we will need to learn to live with it, probably for many years to come. Hopefully vaccination will help to keep the number of people infected down to a manageable number and negate the need for too many stringent controls. In many ways, I hope we don’t return to the pre-pandemic normal. I hope we emerge from this dark period into a new light. I think we can all agree that the past year or so has been incredibly difficult and has presented many challenges. And I think we can also agree that the death care sector has responded to those challenges admirably. As I write this In Touch in April 2021, the news is full of the dreadful situation in India, which is experiencing a huge wave of coronavirus infections and deaths. The country is short of oxygen, meaning that hospitals are unable to help many thousands of people and leading to what would otherwise be preventable deaths. The high death rate is in turn leading to the need for mass cremation, with areas of land being taken over for the building of funeral pyres. The pictures are very distressing, and I can only begin to imagine what it is like for those working in such dreadful conditions, and for the families they are doing their best to help. Closer to home, there are reports that 2000 bodies are currently being stored in warehouses in Rome because the city has very limited burial space, and the only crematorium is operating at half capacity. People who lost family members in January have not been able to achieve a burial or cremation yet, some 3 months on. This is a scandalous situation. It prompted one person to place billboards across the city saying ‘Mum, I’m sorry I’ve not been able to have you buried yet’; his mum died on 8th March and as of 29th April she had not been buried. The same was also true for his aunt, who died on 9th January. Even at the peak of the pandemic when death rates in the UK were at their highest, our death care system did not buckle. All throughout the pandemic, the dead have been treated with dignity and respect, and families have been able to hold a funeral (of sorts) in a (relatively) timely fashion. Planning, regular communication, co-operation and sheer hard work by all parts of the funeral sector meant our system performed exceptionally well. Of course, it was not ideal, with attendance at funerals being restricted and
related events such as burial and scattering of ashes suspended for a while; time will tell what impact that will have on those bereaved during the pandemic. But the thing we can be proud of is that the essential service of burying or cremating the dead did not falter, and we were nowhere near the unfortunate and inexcusable situations currently being faced in India and Italy. Well done and thank you to everyone who worked so hard throughout the pandemic despite the threat to themselves and their families. As things are beginning to ease, there will inevitably be new challenges to face. There is a growing momentum towards increasing the number of people able to attend a funeral in England to over 30; in Scotland the current maximum is 50 (subject to the size of the premises) and in Wales and Northern Ireland the maximum number of attendees is relative to the capacity of the building. Questions are currently being asked in the press about the wisdom of allowing thousands of people to attend a football match, but restricting important life events to such low numbers. We may therefore see a reconsideration by the English Government and an increase in the numbers allowed to attend a funeral ahead of the introduction of Step 4. We may also see an increase in the number of people who can attend a funeral related event, such as the burial or scattering of ashes. This number is currently 15, which again seems very low compared to the numbers allowed to go to the pub, for example. What we must be particularly aware of as things are easing is the toll that the past 12 months has had on our physical and mental health. I know many of us have pretty much relied on adrenalin to keep us going; people have dug deep and found resources they perhaps didn’t know they had. That’s fine in the short term, but it can’t be sustained indefinitely. We need to keep an eye on ourselves and on our colleagues and make sure that we and they remain well. It is a truism that we can’t care for others if we don’t take care of ourselves first. At the start of the pandemic the ICCM identified that resources may be required to help members stay well. A Wellbeing During the Pandemic post was set up on the ICCM website, with links to various sources of support and help, including a reduced rate for ICCM members with our wellbeing partner, Heartled Wellbeing. This offer is still valid; it is confidential and non-judgemental and members can make contact directly with Heartled should they feel that they need some support. Also on the website, and at the back of this Journal, you will find contact details for the ICCM Officers, who will continue to offer technical advice, general support and a friendly voice at the end of the phone. Have a good summer and let’s hope that by the time the Autumn Journal comes out the living really will be easy. Julie Dunk ICCM Chief Executive
