The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Offering support for bereaved families
THIS week is Dying Matters Week, organised by the Dying Matters Coalition to encourage people to talk openly about dying, death and bereavement, so Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice is inviting people to visit or call the hospice to find out more about its be
SUE Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice has been serving the community of Peterborough for more than 20 years, providing long-term and end of life care for people living with a life-limiting condition as well as supporting their family and carers.
The hospice provides a range of services from day and respite care to pre and post-bereavement support.
In particular the bereavement team offers support to anyone who has lost someone who has stayed at the hospice, helping them to come to terms with their grief.
Jane Pope, Bereavement Coordinator at the Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice, commented: “I have been working as a Bereavement Coordinator at Thorpe Hall for more than five years and it doesn’t matter how many people I have seen in all that time, each time I start a new journey with the person I am trying to help.
“Every person is different and reacts in a different way to the sorrow of losing someone they loved deeply. Coming to terms with the idea of death is always difficult.
“At one end of the spectrum you find people who keep themselves extremely busy so that they don’t have time to think about their loss.
“At the other end there are people who are so overwhelmed by the pain and distress that they don’t even want to get out of bed. What I try to do is to help people to find a balance between these two extremes.
“It is good to keep busy, but at the same time it is also important to find a space where you are in touch with your feelings and if needed allow yourself to cry, to pour out your sadness.
“If someone instead wants only to stay home and is trying to shut the rest of the world out, I will encourage them step by step to see family and friends as mixing with other people can be good and help free the mind.
“I think people in Britain generally find it difficult to talk about death and dying, but it is important to try to do so.
“Talking with family and friends about our memories and the time spent together with the person who died can be hugely comforting.
“Death is part of life, but it is so difficult to accept the idea of dying as we would like the people we love to stay with us for ever”.
Anyone who would like to receive more information about the bereavement services available at Sue Ryder Thorpe Hall Hospice should contact Jane Pope on 01733 330060 or email jane.pope@suerydercare.org
Sue Ryder services are funded through a combination of statutory funding, personal funding and voluntary donations. The majority of this has to come from voluntary donations, please contact the staff at the hospice on 01733 330060 if you would like to make a donation or send a cheque to the Fundraising Office, Thorpe Hall Hospice, Thorpe Road, Peterborough, PE3 6LW.