Sunderland’s #teamED care for those left behind

Losing a loved one is a painful experience at the best of times; losing a loved one in the chaotic environment of an Emergency Department makes the whole experience more daunting and frightening.

Kayleigh Brown and Lindsay Wakefield, two Staff Nurses in our Emergency Department at Sunderland Royal Hospital, spotted a way of bringing the human touch back into a family’s ‘worst day ever’. Instead of a couple of leaflets and a plastic bag or two containing their relative’s belongings, families will now be able to gain some comfort from the Bereavement Bags designed and created by Kayleigh and Lindsay.

• They have made bags for men and women containing a printed card with:
• Forget-Me-Not seeds for the family to plant
• A small handmade box for personal items such as earrings
• Necklaces and hearing aids
• A candle with a short poem attached
• An optional ‘memories card’ which allows a family to save their loved one’s fingerprints and a hair clipping if they wish

Our own booklet on ‘what to do after death’ is included in the bag for families to read when they feel able. Kayleigh and Lindsay developed their idea after their own experiences of losing someone close. They realised that we had no way to give families a lasting memory of their loved one, and set out to change what we could offer.

While we cannot take away the pain of a relative dying in the Emergency Department, we can try to help families hold on to some memories. Our new Bereavement Bags will help us extend our care to those left behind.