Suicide Bereavement (Postvention) Service

Description

Suicide Bereavement Services is to support those bereaved by suicide to face the immediate, acute, disorientating, and painful experience of the first weeks and months after the suicide. The service also aims to support people bereaved or affected by suicide in the longer term, by signposting to, or working in partnership with local agencies and community groups. The Service will conform to the SASP (Support After Suicide Partnership) checklist of what a good Postvention service should looks like : • A single/lead point of contact • Involvement at all stages of those with lived experience for example as volunteers, staff and through consultation in relation to service design and development. • Proactive contact with the bereaved family, within 72 hours of the death. • Non-judgemental emotional and practical support • Support with the Inquest and legal process • Referral to specialist support services where needed • Contact and support for the medium to long term, following the bereaved person’s journey and needs • Collaborative relationships and strong networking with a multi-agency network including frontline services, local services and councils, hospitals, GPs, schools, the Police, Coroners, and other organisations along the bereavement pathway. • Focus on evaluation, iteration and learning from the interventions. This will be key to ensuring that the service is effective, person-centred and responsive to service users’ needs, whilst also contributing to the evidence-base and informing the development of future provision.