Following a child or young person’s death we have a Butterfly team that look after the child and provide support for the family.
The Butterfly coordinator may assist in transferring the child to use our Butterfly suite in the hospice. This is a private, comfortable suite which enables families to stay together at this sad time, also a place where other family members can come and see the child. The child can stay for up to seven days if the family wish, depending on availability of the suites.
Should the family wish to stay at home with their child, we are able to work with local funeral directors to enable this wherever possible. The child may rest at home with a cuddle cot or cooling blanket and have support from the Butterfly team at home if needed.
Helping families at this difficult time will be very individual and can range from practical support such as registering the child’s death and funeral planning to emotional support such as collecting mementoes and supporting siblings.
Following a child’s funeral, the child will be allocated a bereavement key worker from the Butterfly team and they will continue to maintain contact with the family through telephone and home visits when needed. The bereavement key worker may refer to the counselling and/or complementary therapy service where appropriate or direct families to the appropriate organisations for support.