There are hospital jobs that are easy to overlook until the day a family needs them. At the University Hospital of North Tees, Liz Horsley and Leah Richardson are often among the first people relatives speak to after someone has died.
The two bereavement support officers help families through a period that can feel both emotionally overwhelming and surprisingly administrative. Their work ranges from explaining what happens next to arranging paperwork and helping relatives make contact with the other services involved.
Practical help at a difficult time
After a death in hospital, families may need to understand medical certificates, the role of the coroner, registration arrangements and how a funeral director becomes involved. Liz and Leah provide a steady point of contact while those pieces are put in place. They can also help organise a viewing when relatives wish to spend time with the person who has died.
The value of that role is not simply knowing which form goes where. Grief can make ordinary decisions harder, and few families arrive knowing how the system works. A clear explanation, given patiently and at the right pace, can remove some of the uncertainty from an already painful day.
The service also supports parents whose baby has died. The hospital’s Snowdrop Suite offers a private setting for families, while the bereavement team helps them understand the choices available. It is work that demands sensitivity, to detail and an ability to listen without rushing a conversation.
A link to wider support
Bereavement does not end when hospital paperwork is completed. Liz and Leah can point people towards counselling and other organisations able to offer longer-term help. That signposting matters because different families need different things: some want practical guidance immediately, while others may seek emotional support weeks or months later.
University Hospitals Tees highlighted the pair’s work in August to show what happens behind the scenes when a patient dies. Their profile describes a service built around dignity for the person who has died and kindness for those left behind.
It is also a reminder of the range of people involved in hospital care. Doctors and nurses may be the most visible, but a family’s experience can depend just as much on the colleague who answers a difficult question, checks a certificate or makes sure a viewing is arranged with care.
The pair also act as a bridge between organisations that families may encounter only once: hospital clinicians, the coroner’s office, registrars and funeral directors. Keeping track of where a case has reached can prevent relatives from having to repeat distressing information or chase several services without knowing which one is responsible for the next step.
Families can return with questions, which matters when information heard in the first hours of grief is difficult to absorb.
No service can make bereavement easy, and the team does not pretend otherwise. What it can do is make the next step clearer. For families at North Tees, Liz and Leah provide that practical guidance at a moment when calm, human contact counts for a great deal.