Last week Elliot's Footprint worked in collaboration with Forget Me Not Children's Hospice to provide a workshop on best practice in bereavement care following a sudden and unexpected death in childhood (SUDIC). The workshop brought together an inaugural group of families and professionals working in a broad range of settings including medical hospices, healthcare professionals, police and bereavement support staff in order to start a conversation to discuss what happens in their areas of work - what families need, where the gaps are and how different organisations can work together to create a blueprint for what SUDIC support there should be across Yorkshire.
In 2013 Elliot, who was just 2 years old, went to sleep and never woke up, no illness, no warning - when such a death happens it is given the name SUDIC – Sudden Unexpected Death in Children. Elliot's Footprint was created to ensure that no family struggled alone after the sudden death of their child. Elliot's family received little support after losing Elliot, in their words ‘we became part of everyone else’s process, hospital, police, coroners…but no one was part of ours’. 11 years on everyone at Elliot's Footprint are incredibly proud of his legacy. Our research, our training programme in hospitals, police and schools and our partnerships with FMN and now CBUK – however with the lack of financial support for charities and local government cuts which means bereavement services and support are being cut – this means that families will struggle to get the support they need. The impact of losing your child reaches into everything, mental and physical wellbeing, whether you can remain in work, the impact of siblings, especially around mental wellbeing and education, relationships including the high rates of divorce for couples – the list goes on.
The next step is for us to collate all the ideas and thoughts and start to create some strands of work that we know will make a difference for families - watch this space.
Comentarios