Charity calls for ‘grief pathway’ to help doctors

SEVENTY per cent of GPs have prescribed drugs such as antidepressants to grieving patients, even though they felt there should have been another option, a study reveals.

More than half said long waiting times for counselling were the main reason, with 49 per cent citing a lack of local mental health support.

The Sue Ryder charity surveyed 250 family doctors. It is now urging the Government to develop a “bereavement pathway” to help people navigate grief.

One GP interviewed by the charity said: “I feel bad because I know there is no immediate care, given the current waiting times for a lot of services.

Support

“If waiting times are bad, I offer antidepressants. But I worry that people will not pursue other forms of support.”

Sue Ryder also surveyed 8,500 people who had lost a loved one. It found 70 per cent could not access the help they needed.

Of those who did get formal support for grief, two-thirds received prescription drugs within six months.

The charity said a bereavement pathway would benefit doctors. It insisted this must include looking at evidence on interventions such as counselling, drugs and community-based support.

Heidi Travis, Sue Ryder chief executive, said: “An estimated three million people experienced a bereavement during the first two years of the pandemic, leaving thousands of families devastated, struggling to cope with how to say goodbye and with increased isolation making it difficult to seek the right support for their grief.

“Health professionals are under immense pressure and our research has shown they often have limited options but to offer prescription drugs to grieving patients as a way to bridge the gap until other support services are available.

“If the Government committed to supporting the development of a bereavement pathway, GPs and wider healthcare professionals would be better equipped to refer patients to the appropriate support for them, ensuring people can get the right help at the right time.”

The survey found that the most common types of support that people wanted but could not access were counselling and financial support.

Bianca Neumann, head of bereavement at the charity, said: “Our research has shown there is a heavy reliance on clinical interventions such as prescription drugs, when other interventions could be better suited to an individual’s needs.

“Not providing early support interventions for people experiencing grief can affect mental health and wellbeing.”