The importance of environment at this time of need.
On a night I will never forget, where I relive each moment, over and over again, but I have a total blank about the surroundings of the bereavement room at the hospital, I remember being in there for hours but couldn’t even tell you the colour of paint used on the walls. On a few occasions I left the room to get some air, I walked outside and had to walk back through the A&E department, passing many faces, feeling a glare on my sole, an outcast from the human race. I guess we was lucky as the effort has been made to set aside a room, but this only when so far. What would it take to improve the environment?

Since George's passing, I looked for an answer, I have been encourage to read how some areas and charities has seen the need to provide such a suitable bereavement suite. These suites transform the physical environment of the bereavement suite for the benefit of the bereaved and the front line staff who care for them.

This is a place where loved ones can wait for news or where families who has lost their loved ones can say their final goodbyes. The bereavement process starts from the very second and will never go away. Its the little things we do now that in the coming years that really makes a difference.

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If we are successful in finding help and the hospital is willing, we wish for the following:

The Bereavement Suite
This rooms should be painted in comforting colours and furnished so it does not feel too clinical, it should enhancing the healing environment and improves the support for the dying and the bereaved in an imaginative way. It should have coffee making facilities and be equipped with a small selection of toys for children to use. There should be literature available for families to take away with them for them to read at their convenience. We want to make the emotionally painful time of end of life and bereavement as dignified and supported an experience as possible for patients, their loved ones and for the staff who care for them.