As part of Dying Matters Awareness Week, taking place from 10-16 May, Bristol funeral venue Memorial Woodlands has launched a new programme of free end of life training for professionals in the care sector.

In partnership with leading bereavement training provider Mireille Hayden of Gentle Dusk, Memorial Woodlands is offering care home staff and managers, who have been hit by loss during the pandemic, the opportunity to book free half-day training sessions.

The supportive programme of training includes information and practical skills around end of life care planning as well as a workshop for staff on bereavement. The sessions will take place virtually over two half-days.

Mireille Hayden, Founding Director of Gentle Dusk, said: “The past year has been extremely challenging for the care home sector and its staff and managers have been faced with bereavement on both a personal and professional level.

“I have been working closely with Bristol Memorial Woodlands to deliver these courses following requests from front-line staff and leaders. We have now piloted delivering the sessions in a bespoke whole-systems approach to a major local care home group. We received really positive feedback from everyone who attended so we decided to roll out the programme and offer it to more organisations who would benefit. 

“The programme will be free for the next six months for all care homes in Bristol and surrounding areas. It supports open conversations and provides staff with greater understanding and confidence in addressing the issues around these taboo subjects.”

Bristol Care Homes has already provided its staff with the training. Tania Bartholomew, Group Care Quality Manager, said: “Gathering information about our residents’ end of life plan is a really important part of what our care staff do. 

“This training explains the importance of knowing residents’ wishes, sharing those wishes with the right people and ensuring they are carried out with dignity.

“Our carers have experienced a lot of bereavement, grief and loss over the last year, some personal too, and having a safe place to express their feelings with people that understand, has helped them identify and deal with their strong emotions.

“It becomes a healthier conversation when we link our own grief to how we want our final days to be and how our lives will be celebrated. The training draws these discussions out of heavy hearts and makes things seem much more optimistic and gives us an appreciation of how we really make a massive difference by simply talking about death.”

Bristol Memorial Woodlands is a 100-acre site in Alveston offering environmentally-friendly woodland burials. Trees and wild flowers are planted around the plots where loved ones are laid to rest and the area is managed by a charitable trust to ensure it will be open forever for future generations to visit. 

If you would like further information or to book a training programme please contact Ella ella@memorialwoodlands.com.

For more information about our work, training and events please visit www.gentledusk.org.uk and www.memorialwoodlands.com