1. THE ROLE OF THE HEALTH CARE SUPPORT WORKER WITHIN THE INTENSIVE CARE BEREAVEMENT FOLLOW UP SERVICE 09045716 PE1S030 “ Very little will ease the pain of the loss of a loved one, simply being there and showing true and genuine compassion may help, bereavement is the period of time following the death of a loved one”. Horton (1995) P 568-570. Bereavement is a crisis faced by each and every person during his or her life. How each person copes with death is determined by family dynamics along with the relationship they have with the individual. NICE (2004) recognise that health care professionals should support bereaved relatives in their time of need. The role of the healthcare support worker has transformed into a skilled role at the bedside of the patient delivering acute patient care, this has been through the modernisation agenda within the NHS (Stokes et al 2004, Wanless 2002). The Welsh Assembly Government introduced a national code of conduct for health care support workers that ensures all workers are educated and trained to work within their realm of practice (WAG 2011). References: Horton S (1995) Support for bereaved relatives in Intensive Care Units. Professional Nurse. 10:9.568-570. Intensive Care Society (1998). Guidelines for Bereavement Care in Intensive Care Units. London: Intensive Care Society. Kubler-Ross E (2005) on Grief and Grieving. Finding the meaning of grief through the 5 stages of loss. Simon & Schuster Ltd. NICE (2004) Supportive and palliative Care: the manual, NICE guidence. http:// guidence.nice.org.uk/csgsp/guidence/pdf/English(accessed28/04/2011). Stokes J, Wardens A (2004) The changing role of the healthcare assistant. Nursing Standard. 18:51. 33-37. Wanless D (2002) Securing Our future Health Taking a Long Term View. The Stationery Office, London. Welsh Assembly Government (2010) All Wales guidelines for Delegation. Welsh Assembly Government. Welsh Assembly Government (2011) Code of Conduct for Healthcare Support workers in Wales. Welsh Assembly Government. Code of Practice for NHS Wales Employers.Welsh Assembly Government. Welsh Assembly Government (2005) Designed for Life: Creating World Class Health and Social Care for Wales in the 21 st Century. The Strategic Unit, Welsh Assembly Government. Wilson A, Norbury E, Richardson K (2000). Caring for broken hearts_patients and relatives: 3 years of bereavement in CCU. Nursing in Critical Care:5:288-293. This follow – up service has been designed to offer support to bereaved relatives following a death on intensive care. This service is intended to answer any questions, issues or concerns raised. It is not intended for any issues prior to the intensive care admission. However, we can offer advice on how issues can be resolved. This service was set up to provide a holistic approach to relatives as the Intensive Care Society (1998) acknowledge that relatives are experiencing intense grief at this time. NICE (2004) recognises that information regarding bereavement must be offered in conjunction with how to contact specialist support agencies. Bereavement Support Agency CRUSE 02929889227 To become a member of the support group I undertook a bereavement course that ensured I have the knowledge and understanding of this subject to ensure that I am competent in delivering these calls. The code of conduct for HCSW (2011) has given me the opportunity to have specific delegated tasks that I am able to undertake working within my sphere of accountability as advised by WAG (2010). The team that will facilitate the telephone conversation are registered nurses and a health care support worker. All of the team are committed to providing excellent communication and support to grieving families at this time. The next of kin will receive a condolence card within one week as advocated by Wilson et al (2000), this is why we need your details. Within the card will be a date and time when a member of the group will contact you, you have the option to accept or decline this call at any time. Individual relatives may experience the following stages of grief, this is normal. Kubler-Ross (2005) indicates that there are five stages to grief DENIAL - this is the initial feeling following the bereavement. ANGER - why me, why my family. BARGAINING - could I have changed this. DEPRESSION - feeling vulnerable, alone and tearful. ACCEPTANCE – ready to move on with the next phase of your life, there is no time limit as each person is individual.