Sudden bereavement support

About our offer

The sudden passing of a friend or colleague can be a difficult and traumatic experience, which may be made harder to cope with given the pressures of continuing to run a busy general practice.

The RCGP have selected a small team of advisers from our Primary Care Development programme and trained them to provide practical operational support and be a voice for the practice as they navigate a difficult and destabilising time. This work is supported by the mental health service provided by Practitioner Health in England and by Canopi in Wales.

This support is provided at no cost to the practice. 

Previously funded by NHS England, this immediate support is now funded by the RCGP to offer support following the sudden death of a key practice member; such as a partner or practice manager.

Contact us

The best method of contact is by completing this contact form to get in touch. Alternatively, you can ring the Practice Support team on 020 3188 7637 please note that this number is not monitored during evenings or weekends.

We aim to respond to all enquiries within the day.

In the meantime, you may find the resources below useful.

Resources

• Responding to the death by suicide of a colleague in primary care: A postvention framework - Louise Tebboth Foundation + Society Occupational Medicine (PDF file, 540 KB)
• Death of a Contractor in Primary Medical Services - NHS England (PDF file, 252 KB)
• Developing a suicide postvention framework - Occupational Medicine, Volume 71, Issue 4-5
• Fallen Friend - The Doctor, November 2020, issue 26
• What to do when an employee dies - GOV.UK
• Pensions advice - Primary Care Support England
• Bereavement advice - NHS Practitioner Health
• Sources of support for your wellbeing - BMA
• Wellbeing support services for doctors and medical students - BMA (PDF file, 547 KB)
• Staff wellbeing hubs in England - NHS England
• Dying Matters During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Part 1 - RCGP
• Dying Matters During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Part 2 - RCGP