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Enabling a better understanding of the importance of the spiritual dimension to the well-being of older people

You are here: Home / Blog / Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief reflects

Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief reflects

You are here: Home / Blog / Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief reflects

Last March, Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief worked with Faith in Older People to pull together a joint newsletter focusing on bereavement issues.  

One year on, Rebecca Patterson, Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief reflects on some of the developments that have happened since then… 

Rebecca-Patterson

Moving from talk to action on bereavement

Last Summer saw the publication of the Scottish Bereavement Summit Report.  Bringing together the views of people working across the Scottish bereavement sector, the report drew attention to the difficulties faced by people who are grieving in Scotland, and set out 10 recommendations:

  • Improve signposting to available support.
  • Increase public awareness, confidence, comfort and skills relating to bereavement issues.
  • Ensure strategic direction, accountability and responsibility for improving bereavement support.
  • Enable schools and educational institutions to be more supportive of people who are bereaved.
  • Address equity/equality issues and improve access to services for people with a range of needs.
  • Encourage and support workplaces to be better at supporting bereaved staff.
  • Support opportunities for professionals to network, learn and share good practice.
  • Improve Bereavement Support for Health and Social Care staff.
  • Improve how bereavement services, projects and initiatives are funded.
  • Ensure future action is informed by evidence, information and builds on existing work.

Following on from a meeting between sector representatives and Scottish Government to discuss the report, Maree Todd, Minister for Social Care, Wellbeing and Sport has agreed to be Ministerial Champion for Bereavement.  This is a hugely positive development, hopefully a herald of good things to come for work to improve experiences of bereavement in Scotland.  

However, a key message from the Bereavement Summit was that while there was a need for more action and co-ordination from Scottish Government, people were also keen to continue to work together as a sector to actively find ways of achieving positive change.

With this in mind, Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief and the Scottish Bereavement Charter Group are working together to hold a series of ‘moving from talk to action on bereavement’ events.  The idea is to take each of the summit recommendations in turn, and explore how to make change happen in each area.

The first in the series of events took place on 23rd January 2024, and explored the first recommendation: improving signposting to bereavement information and support.  140 people attended, discussing questions such as what are we hoping to achieve by improving signposting? What would improved signposting look like? What steps are needed to get there? 

Notes from January’s discussions have informed the production of a draft vision for improvement of bereavement signposting in Scotland and a rough outline theory of change.  On the 19th March we’ll gather together again to discuss and build on these outlines, with the aim of developing a more detailed theory of change/action plan for the future.

Meanwhile, plans are in place for an event to explore another of the Summit recommendations – encouraging workplaces to be better at supporting bereaved staff.   The event is aimed at employers, senior management and HR professionals from all sectors, including business, commercial and retail, and will be an opportunity for delegates to explore how to make their workplaces more supportive of people who have been bereaved. We’re delighted that Maree Todd MSP will be there, visibly supporting this work in her role as Ministerial Champion for Bereavement.

At Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief it is our mission to make Scotland a place where people help each other through the difficult times that can come with death, dying, loss and care.  When someone is bereaved the support they receive from those around them – their family, friends and wider communities – makes a huge difference to their experience.  Communities including workplaces, schools and faith communities therefore have a hugely important role to play.

Learn more about, and join in with, the growing movement to improve experiences of bereavement here: https://www.goodlifedeathgrief.org.uk/news/news/moving-from-talk-to-action-on-bereavement1/

Rebecca Patterson
Director of Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief