Barnsley Hospice and Compass Be team up to provide bereavement support

The theme for this year’s National Grief Awareness Week is ‘Better Together’, focusing on organisations working in collaboration to reach more people and ensure there are no gaps in knowledge about the services they provide. 

Recently, Barnsley Hospice teamed up with Compass Be, an organisation that provides mental health support, including post-bereavement, for children, young people and families in education settings throughout the Barnsley area. Subsequently, the hospice and Compass Be have worked together to reduce waiting times and ensure more children, young people and families can access the bereavement support they need. 

Michelle Eyre, team leader at Compass Be, oversees the specialist pathways within the service, including bereavement. 

She said: “Working with the hospice has been a really positive partnership, and has enabled our children, young people and families to access the support they need sooner, helping them adapt to their new life. 

“The opportunity to work in partnership is important for everyone involved and brings many benefits. It supports open communication and, together, we can respond to the wishes of the local children, young people and families requiring bereavement intervention.”

Ross Fletcher, director of nursing and allied health professionals at Barnsley Hospice, shared more about the impact of partnership working. 

“The support that bereavement services provide is vital and should be something everyone can access when need it. 

“We believe in the importance of working with our partners across all areas of our organisation, and our work with Compass Be is a great example of the difference we can make to local people when services work together.”

Our bereavement support service is available for the family and friends of people who died from a life-limiting illness and had specialist palliative care needs. The service is available for children aged 5 to 18 and adults aged 18 or over.