Treetops, based in Risley, has been offering bereavement counselling to children, adults and families for over twenty years but has recognised the huge impact that the pandemic has had, and continues to have on care home ‘communities’.
It is estimated that at least 200 residents from care homes in Derby and Derbyshire have died from COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak.
When residents die this has an enormous impact on everyone
Carol Stevenson, Treetops Therapeutic Services Manager, said the counselling service is ‘needed now more than ever’:
“Care homes are very much communities in their own right, where residents have lived and been cared for, for many years in some cases. Naturally, residents and staff develop close relationships and friendships, so when residents die this has an enormous impact on everyone in the home.
Unable to just stop and process their grief
“Over the last few months, hundreds of residents have died in care homes across Derby and Derbyshire. But staff have had to carry on working and they’ve been unable to just stop and process their grief, or to share their anxieties and stresses of working through the pandemic.”
“We have a team of highly qualified counsellors, student counsellors and trained bereavement support volunteers and we’re ready to offer one-to-one sessions, online or face-to-face, within the hospice’s bespoke counselling centre.
“We can also offer to lead more informal group sessions in care homes themselves.”
Counselling is available to care home staff who work in the southern Derbyshire and Derby city areas.
Treetops provides nursing care and emotional support for adults with life-limiting conditions such as cancer, motor neurone disease and heart and respiratory conditions.
Last year, Treetops Hospice Care provided over 1,100 bereavement sessions for children and families, over 3,000 adult bereavement counselling sessions, and over 600 support sessions for people dealing with a life-limiting condition.