Another participant who was a healthcare worker described the heartbreak of not being able to comfort her family at a funeral during the pandemic in fear of placing her family members at risk of COVID-19: “I’ll never forget watching my 86-year-old aunt sob silently and without being able to physically comfort her for fear I’d place her at risk as I’m a nurse working in a hospital with COVID patients.” 3.12 Experience of Bereavement and Grief Over 60% of participants (N=691) stated that the pandemic made their grieving process more difficult, but over half of respondents (N=580, 53.6%) highlighted that, despite the restrictions, their family and friends found meaningful ways to support them in their grief. Almost 40% of participants (N=396) did not get the support they needed after the death of a loved one because of restrictions. Yet, most bereaved participants (N=496) reported that they did not require extra support from a professional or support service. For those that did require support services, most sought help from a counsellor, psychotherapist, or private psychologist (N=138) or from a GP (N=100). Some participants (N=80) wanted to get support but did not know where to go.
3.13 Survey Participant Reflections
e above quantitative results were supported and reiterated in the free-text responses from participants. e following themes emerged:
Limited Bereavement Support Importance of Community Support
3.13.1 Limited Bereavement Support
Participants expressed a lack of bereavement support during the pandemic. is was presented as a lack of support given by a professional or difficulty accessing support while grieving. For instance, one participant recalled their experience of visiting their GP to get support following a bereavement and explained how limited emotional support was given: “Even if a death occurred prior to the pandemic, for the most part the COVID has had a knock-on effect to those who were grieving when it started. When I went to see my GP as I thought I needed help, he said “of course you don’t feel right, you lost both your parents. Keep losing weight” – nothing was offered to help i.e., counselling etc.” Another participant explained how the nurses were very caring towards her mother in hospital but mentioned the disappointment of no support being offered to herself or her siblings when it was needed - see opposite:
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