BEREAVEMENT CARE IN GENERAL-PRACTICE - A SURVEY IN SOUTH THAMES HEALTH REGION

Background. Studies have shown that bereaved individuals suffer increa sed rates of physical and mental ill health. Bereavement support has r ecently been advocated as an area of prevention in primary care, with suggestions that general practitioners (GPs) should adopt protocols fo r the active follow-up of their bereaved patients, which relies on the early notification of deaths by hospitals and hospices. Little is kno wn about the routine care currently provided by GPs and primary health care teams (PHCTs) to support their bereaved patients. Aims. To explo re GPs' perceptions of patient death notifications by hospitals and ho spices. To describe practice policies relating to patient deaths and t he provision of bereavement support. Method Postal questionnaires were sent to senior partners of a random sample of 500 general practices i n South Thames Health Region. Results. Three hundred and fifty-three p ractitioners responded (71%). Hospitals were perceived to be significa ntly slower than hospices in notifying deaths (P<0.0001). One hundred and ninety-six practices (56%) kept death registers, 230 (65%) discuss ed deaths together, and 142 (40%) identified bereaved relatives. One h undred and thirty-seven practices (39%) routinely offered bereaved rel atives contact with a PHCT member; while 133 (38%) supported only thos e who asked for help. Routine support was significantly more likely to be provided by practices that kept a death register, discussed deaths together, identified bereaved relatives, and had a special interest i n palliative care. Conclusions. GPs perceive hospitals to be slower th an hospices at notifying deaths, particularly in the first 24 hours. T hey are divided over whether bereavement support should be proactive o r reactive. Keeping a practice death register, discussing deaths toget her, and identifying newly bereaved relatives are activities related t o providing routine bereavement care.