The Family Support Services team at Rennie Grove provides patients and their families with the emotional, practical and psychological support they need to cope with illness and bereavement.
Because dealing with life-limiting and terminal illness is hard.
Patients and their families can feel afraid, alone and overwhelmed. We all grieve differently. And we might need help at different points along the way. We want to be here for everyone who needs us. As soon as they need us and for as long as they need us.
Lisa, Head of Family Support Services, explains the impact of the pandemic -
"More people than ever are asking us for help. COVID-19 meant we all had to learn to live in social isolation. Putting extra pressures on our relationships and taking away our wider support networks.
But imagine how that must feel when you’re dealing with life-limiting illness too. Patients were petrified of catching it. Families were fearful of passing it on. Carers had no respite. People couldn’t say goodbye properly.
Although we’re learning to live with COVID-19 now, my team is supporting people who are trying to deal with the impact of the pandemic every day. More referrals, more complex cases, higher levels of serious psychological distress. The sort that leads to suicidal thoughts. Every day, someone comes to us, desperate for help, because they’re having these thoughts."
COVID-19 made caring, grieving and saying goodbye much harder.
Your gift today could help us be there for those who need us when facing illness and bereavement.