Supporting Bereaved Relatives Training for Porters

A 'Learning Matters' awards 2017 Case Study.

Improving end of life care is a priority at national and local level and this includes how relatives of those who have died are supported.  A 2015 NIHR report “Better Endings”, raised concerns about the way certain bereavement services are provided including “skills and training gaps for general staff caring for the dying.” Some porters had stated that when they were collecting the deceased to take them to the mortuary they wanted to “get in and out of there as quickly as possible” and that they often felt uncomfortable and ill equipped to talk with the bereaved “in case they made things worse.”