Charities join forces to support grieving families

Two charities have started a partnership to offer a lifeline to families facing the loss of a loved one.

Thames Valley Air Ambulance and Child Bereavement UK announced they had sighed a memorandum of understanding to support bereaved families and children.

The charities said "gearing up to face the school gates after a bereavement" could be overwhelming.

Adam Crosby, head of aftercare at the air ambulance, said the joined work allowed for conversations around bereavement to happen in "a really safe, caring environment" and lead by the families.

National charity Child Bereavement UK, which is based in Buckinghamshire, helps families to rebuild their lives when a child grieves or when a baby or child of any age dies.

Its director of services and partnerships Maninder Hayre said they were "pleased" to partner with Thames Valley Air Ambulance "to raise awareness of both services, sharing knowledge and expertise so that grieving families are able to access the support they need, when they need it”.

The air ambulance brings life-saving services to the most critically ill and injured patients across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

Mr Crosby said their crews “meet families on possibly the worst day of their lives".

He called the partnership between the two charities "a huge leap forward" in the level of support and engagement they could offer them.

"It allows us to have conversations about what happened in a really safe, caring environment which can be lead by the families [...] at their own pace," he said.

The charity reported that in 2023, it had been called out 3,293 times.

Mr Crosby said that they had wanted to strengthen the partnership with Child Bereavement UK, which had provided them with "excellent support and advice."

"I know that the aftercare team at Thames Valley Air Ambulance can make a real and genuine difference to the experience of something that very few of us can actually imagine happening."

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