Safeguard Bereavement

The Safeguard Bereavement system has been developed to support the services offered by Health Professionals to those that have been bereaved. Designed in conjunction with Health Professionals, it takes account of the guidance provided by the Department of Health in the publication "When a Patient Dies".

Many agencies may be involved when a death occurs, and the Safeguard Bereavement module promotes a coordinated response across those different agencies. It ensures that information is shared so that the wishes and needs of the patient and their relatives are known.

Performance Indicators
Safeguard Bereavement reflects the legislation and procedures relating to death and bereavement. Although there are currently no statutory standards of effectiveness and efficiency for bereavement services, the information collected will enable organisations to bench mark against their own Bereavement Service Key Performance Indicators. Such indicators may include % GPs notified within 1 working day,
ratio Death Certificates/Cremation Forms/Coroner's referrals completed within 1/2/3 working day, number of post mortems conducted as a % deaths, % deaths with infection, clinical governance indicators and case follow-up activity.

Contacts
Full details of the next of kin and other primary contacts is recorded. Users can set an alert to flag issues of sensitivity to themselves and other members of the team. All communication between the service and the bereaved is recorded including meetings, telephone calls and written communications. These are maintained in chronological order so that members of the team can see previous communications and the status of the case at the touch of a button. Advice given, inclusion of third parties and other issues that arise is recorded. This sharing of information between the Bereavement Service team is vital to ensure that all cases are dealt with as sensitively as possible.

Activities and reminders for key dates are standard within Safeguard; each team member has their own task list.

Referrals to Other Services
The Bereavement Service may feel that it is appropriate to call Medical Staff to meetings so that additional explanation and information can be given. It may also be appropriate to refer on to other Patient Services within the Organisation including PALS and Complaints. Such referrals can be made automatically by email within the System maintaining an audit of information.

Patient Wishes
Requests for organ donations, special requests for cultural and religious beliefs are recorded on behalf of the patient and their relatives.

Integration
Integrated Mail Merge facilities use Microsoft Word®. Standard templates are created by the users, and all letters can be personalised before being sent. All correspondence is saved with the case.

Safeguard Bereavement can be fully integrated with the Safeguard Risk, Incident, Complaints, Litigation, PALS, RFI and Training Modules. However, with Security applied information can remain strictly confidential. This means that many of the circumstances surrounding the patient's death are recorded at the time of the event as well as giving a clear record of staff involved in the certification of death. Safeguard Bereavement also operates effectively without the other modules.

Safeguard can be linked with the Trust's PAS system enabling admission information and GP details to automatically be available.