By Anne Laney, Us in a Bus Interaction Practitioner

We were recently privileged to attend the funeral of someone who has been known to us for many years.

Especially moving was the exceptional way the team of staff from her home both created a wonderful, personalised funeral service and supported the people she lived with to attend, have the opportunity to grieve and say goodbye.

The content of the service was simple, with the addition of live music performed by someone known to everyone and loved by the deceased.

The timings were well thought out, with great attention paid to the point at which each person was taken into the chapel, where they sat and what they might need with them to minimise anxiety and maximise their feelings of safety.

There was NO question that the sounds of expression everyone shared would be “shushed”, however loud. Instead, pauses were left in the proceedings to allow these out pourings of emotion and support and comfort given to everyone.

One person in particular was given physical support to work through his feelings and minimise the self harm he occasionally displays and he was able to remain until the end of the funeral.

In such a potentially sad situation, when staff are working through their own grief, it was a real joy to see how their compassion, strength and professionalism created such an inclusive environment.

There is such good practice around. We must recognise and celebrate it whenever we can and it’s a real pleasure to be associated with such high quality professionals.