New study finds bereaved Essex families are struggling to get critical support
Organisers of the study are calling for more funding into bereavement services
People in Essex experienced over 4000 excess deaths and 21,000 excess bereavements during the Covid-19 pandemic, between March 2020 and December 2021.
That's according to a new study from the UK Commission of Bereavement (UKCB), which found 40% of adults who wanted formal bereavement support between March 2020 and December 2021 didn't get any help.
Jon Clemo, Marie Curie's Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships for the East of England, was involved with the study.
He wants bereavement support services to be improved: "Everyone grieves in a dofferent way.
"For some people, the bereavement support they need might just be a conversation with a friend. For others, they're not going to want to have that conversation with friends and family, so it's important they can talk to an independent professional...
"Whatever works for some, what's really important is that the whole suite of bereavement support is available to everyone that needs it, and that the right people get the right support to the right time...
"We certainly want to see more funding and support going into bereavement services to ensure they're available, and are more cohesive and consistent.
"That way we can close the gaps and make sure bereavement support is available to everyone."
Jon also wants all workplaces and schools to be required to have an official bereavement policy in place, after the commission found that half of bereaved children felt they didn't get the support they needed from their schools and colleges: "We know how impactful death can be on a young person for the rest their life, so we absolutely need to make sure that support is there, when it's needed."
In terms of what would be included in a bereavement policy, Jon had these suggestions: "Whether in a school or business setting, first of all, it's about having a conversation with your staff or your students to try and understand what they need to support them.
"Often, people need to be flexible about leaving and have increased understanding that someone might be behaving differently. It's then about recognising those signals and responding in a supportive way."
Across the country, the UKCB says there were 6.8 million bereavements during the pandemic - with around 750,000 excess bereavements during this period compared to the previous two years.