GMP is the leading light in grief first aid

As the first police force and blue light service in the UK to introduce grief first aiders (GFAs), GMP is now growing the network of bereavement volunteers.

Initially introduced as a pilot in 2023, Sam Martin, who works in GMP’s Information Management Branch and Abby McEwan, who is one of the force’s Wellbeing Volunteer Coordinators, have come together to deliver specialist training to a network of GFAs to provide bereavement support to colleagues.

The concept of grief first aid was initially created by Martin Roddis and Kirsty Slack from Cruse – the bereavement charity providing specialist support. Martin has now assisted Sam and Abby in developing and delivering bespoke training to recruit GFAs into GMP.

This has included videos from a retired police officer Ben Pearson (from the charity 1965 PTSD Awareness), who retired following a diagnosis of complex PTSD after bereavements in his personal life, alongside the impact of his role.

The risk of being exposed to trauma is statistically higher for those working in blue light services and it’s because of this Sam and Abby are keen to raise the awareness of GFAs.

Sam, who suffered a life-changing loss herself several years ago, said: “Grief will impact everyone. It doesn’t have a time frame and each person’s grief is individual and unique to them.

“Providing a safe space to talk about bereavement, with understanding and compassion to connect, is one of the ways proven to help people navigate grief.

“The support we are now able to give has directly assisted individuals returning to work at the beginning of their bereavement journey, as well as those who have an historic bereavement they need to come to terms with.

“We have also helped colleagues dealing with anticipatory grief, which is a feeling of lost before someone dies e.g. when a loved one is diagnosed with an incurable illness such as cancer or dementia.”

As well as the emotional assistance GFAs provide, they can also signpost colleagues to other resources that may be able to help further. They are also trained to have difficult conversations about loss experienced through suicide, for example.

Sam added: “First and foremost, the grief aid volunteers are here for anyone who is going through bereavement. This can be due to the loss of a family member, a baby or child, a friend, colleague or a pet.

“Grief first aid can be utilised in many ways including when someone is off, or in, work after suffering a bereavement, someone who has just returned to work or if they have been triggered whilst in work.

“It can be a mix of police staff and police officers who suffered a bereavement personally or, for example, have been present at a distressing scene which has upset them due to their own life experiences.

“No matter what the situation, we ask that they contact us directly. We will then provide them with what they need, which can be anything from a one-off chat, provision of a safe space for them to talk or we can signpost them to the person or organisation that would better suit their needs. Everything that is spoken about is confidential.

“We also have safeguarding procedures in place so if we deem someone is at risk from harm, we will get further help for them.

“Since we launched the pilot, we’ve seen some of our long-term sick back into work, some of whom had been off work for a while following a bereavement. Our confidential and safe environment have helped a lot of people to process their grief and to start to come to terms with it.”

Abby added: “We carried out a survey regarding grief first aid to determine what GMP staff would require if they’d suffered a bereavement. This survey found 93% of people who responded just wanted a safe space and somebody to talk to.

“We found out that when people access our EAP, Health Assured, bereavement was one of the top five reasons for engaging their counselling service.

“Often when we have a bereavement, those around us struggle with what to say and how to act. You can also feel like people don’t care, when in reality, they just don’t know what to say.

“Each one of our grief aid volunteers have also suffered a bereavement so are empathic and will be able to relate.

“These volunteers have also been through bereavements of different people, such as a family member, a baby or a colleague, and we will try and match you with someone who has been through similar experiences.”

Sam said: “Our aspiration to have at least two trainers in every district and every branch. These 64 volunteers will be on hand to provide valuable support to both officers and staff during what can be the hardest times of their lives.

“We also keep the communication going between the volunteers, so we are all able to connect with each other and check that they are all okay and if not, we are able to speak about it and provide our support.

“As we are the first blue light service to offer grief first aid, we now have other services, including the fire service, who are coming to us for information on how they can also provide grief first aid to their colleagues, which is fantastic.

“The relationship built with Martin Roddis from both Cruse and Elephants in Rooms – a CIC for grief support – means we can continue to evolve our resources and training.

“Looking after each other and leading the way in this aspect means officers are more equipped to handle difficult situations and protect the public.

“We also look after our GFAs and we have regular catch ups to check up on each other and if any one of them needs help, we always pull together to make sure they are able to talk and provide them with the support they need.”

Caption: from l-r Abby, Sam, Nicki and Alison from Cruse and Martin Roddis.

Category: Wellbeing