Hartlepool service's reassurance to grieving people

Hospice officials have reassured people in Hartlepool and East Durham - our bereavement services are still here to support you.
Jan Grocott.Jan Grocott.
Jan Grocott.

That was the message from staff at Alice House Hospice and it came after a separate organisation called Hartlepool Bereavement Service recently announced it was suffering from problems with funding to meet its running costs and closed on Christmas Eve.

Alice House officials said their own Community Bereavement Service is still operating and has not lost funding.

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Jan Grocott, head of counselling & support at the hospice said: “In these difficult financial times, we were sorry to hear that another support agency for bereaved people (Hartlepool Bereavement Service) is struggling to obtain funding to continue their service.

“However, we would like to clarify and to reassure residents of Hartlepool and East Durham that there is still support available for bereaved people at the Community Bereavement Service delivered by Alice House Hospice, and that we are still, as we have been doing for the past 10 years, providing a full range of services for bereaved adults and children.

“You don’t need to have a link to the hospice.”

The Community Bereavement Service can provide individual bereavement counselling, bereavement support, bereavement group work for children, a support group for parents who have experienced the death of an adult child, and support and training for schools.

People can make referrals via their GP or they can refer themselces. Referrals for children can also be made via their school or by other agencies involved in their care.

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For more information contact the Bereavement Team on (01429) 8565550 or visit www.alicehousehospice.co.uk.

The Wells Avenue-based hospice is a registered charity offering specialist palliative care to hundreds of adults from Hartlepool and East Durham each year.

Individuals who access Hospice services can be living with a variety of illnesses including Cancer, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, Motor Neurone Disease, end stage heart disease and Parkinson’s.

Each patient and their family/carers receive a tailor-made package of services to meet their physical, emotional, spiritual and psychological and cultural needs in an atmosphere of comfort and dignity.

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It will cost £3.2 million to continue providing the current range of services this year, yet Alice House Hospice receives only 15% government funding.  The outstanding £2.7 million must be raised through the local community and other fundraising initiatives.