The sudden death of a partner, practice manager or senior colleague can be deeply distressing for a general practice team, while the demands of delivering patient care continue.
Our sudden bereavement support service (SBSS) provides practical, operational assistance to help practices navigate this difficult and destabilising period. Delivered by a small, experienced group of advisers from the Primary Care Development (PCD) team, we act as a trusted, independent voice — helping you manage immediate pressures, stabilise services and plan next steps.
This service is provided at no cost to the practice. While we cannot offer financial support, we can signpost to appropriate sources of advice and assistance. Emotional wellbeing support is available via Practitioner Health in England and Canopi in Wales.
Additional resources and support
You may find the following guidance and signposting helpful:
- A framework for managing the sudden and unexpected death of a colleague in a primary care setting (external PDF file)
- Responding to the death by suicide of a colleague in primary care: a postvention framework (external PDF file)
- 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
- Staff wellbeing hubs in England - NHS England
- The Society of Occupational Medicine reports
- The Daffodil Standards: a free, evidence-based framework for general practices delivering EOLC
Thank you for your feedback. Your response will help improve this page.