Remembrance service at Wexford General Hospital

WEXFORD General Hospital is holding its annual Service of Remembrance at Clonard Church, Wexford, at 7.30 p.m. on Friday (November 10).

The service will provide an opportunity for bereaved families and hospital staff to come together to remember loved ones who died at Wexford General Hospital or loved ones who died elsewhere, but who had a significant connection with the hospital.

This is the seventh year of this event and feedback from families, staff and the public has been very positive and it appears that the event has really struck a chord with all involved.

The Service of Remembrance is particularly intended for families and friends of those who have died in Wexford General Hospital between October 1, 2016 and September 30, 2017.

However, all who have experienced human loss are welcome. It is intended to be a service for all faiths – a time to share memories, to comfort and be comforted. Tea and coffee will follow.

Wexford General Hospital is one of over 40 hospitals taking part in the Hospice Friendly Hospitals (HFH) Programme, an initiative of the Irish Hospice Foundation since 2007, whose main aim is to improve the culture of care delivered at end of life in Ireland, so that patients, families and staff all benefit.

A standing committee for End of Life Care was set up in Wexford General Hospital in 2007 to look at ways to improve the way care is delivered at end of life on a hospital-wide basis.

The committee is comprised of staff from all areas of the hospital. In addition to organising the Service of Remembrance annually, the work has included initiatives such as the sending of sympathy cards, refurbishments to the mortuary and relatives’ rooms, sourcing written bereavement information for relatives, developing education programmes for staff and working towards compliance with the Quality Standards for End-of-life Care in Hospitals (HFH, 2012).