Please note that the presentation slides and recordings for each webinar are accurate as at the date of each session.
This page hosts information and further resources that relate to NHS Education for Scotland's previous bereavement webinars for health and social care professionals.
If you’re a health or social care professional in Scotland and would like to be kept informed of other future bereavement-related webinars, as well as other educational resources, you may wish to sign up to NES’ quarterly Bereavement Update e-Newsletter – click here
You can also find out about our latest webinars on Twitter including information about registration, recordings and presentation slides from the sessions at #NESBereavementWebinars
Experiencing the death of a colleague: Supporting yourself and others -14th March 2024
Dr Gemma Edwards, Previous Scottish Clinical Leadership Fellow, NHS Education for Scotland and Paediatric trainee, NHS Lothian, Lynne Innes Senior Educator Bereavement Education Programme, NHS Education for Scotland and Healthcare Chaplain, NHS Fife
This webinar covered:-
- The sharing of real-life stories
- A summary of the evidence base
- Ideas on ways to support yourself and others
- Things to consider should your workplace experience this sad situation
- The showcasing of a new educational short animated film
PowerPoint slides - click here to view.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Body Donation in Scotland: Understanding what happens when a person dies - 30th August 2023
Catherine Chadha, Senior Anatomy Technician, University of Edinburgh; Vivienne McGuire, Centre Manager, University of Dundee; Laura Sheils, Bequest Coordinator and Lab Manager, University of Edinburgh; Agnieszka Kruk-Omenzetter, Anatomy & Bequest Administrator, University of Aberdeen
This webinar covered:-
- An overview of the body donor programme in Scotland
- Consent processes and documentation
- The role of health and social care staff following a person’s death
- What happens after a person’s body is released by a university
PowerPoint slides - click here to view.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Gender-Based Violence and Bereavement - 25th January 2023
Leanne Patrick, Gender-Based Violence Nurse Specialist, Health Development Team Lead, NHS Fife
This webinar covered:-
- A brief overview of Gender-Based Violence (GBV), types of death where GBV is either a cause or a factor and the impact upon family and friends.
- How to communicate with and support family and friends who may be experiencing trauma, guilt and other complex emotions.
- Understanding the support routes available for family, friends and healthcare staff. This webinar is suitable for a health and social care professional audience.
PowerPoint slides - click here to view.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
Supporting those who experience the death of a child - 7th November 2022
Yvonne Caie, Bereavement Nurse Specialist, NHS Fife and Gordon Strang, Healthcare Chaplain, NHS Fife
This webinar covered:-
- A discussion about the impact the death of a child has on a family.
- How to build confidence and skills in communicating with, and supporting, families who are bereaved of a child.
- How to consider ways to support yourself and your colleagues.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
Supporting people who are bereaved in primary care - 26th May 2022
Rebecca Adams, CCL Listening Service Coordinator, NHS Tayside; Muriel Knox, CCL Listener, NHS Tayside; Dr Sarah Luty, GP and Associate Advisor, NHS Education for Scotland & Vicki Waqa, GPN National Coordinator, NHS Education for Scotland
Staff working in primary care offer support at the time of bereavement to each other, patients, their families, and carers every day in their roles. Often this is through being with each other, by listening and having conversations, however this may be something we wonder if we can do differently.
This webinar discussed how to support people who are bereaved, including exploring the role that Community Chaplaincy Listening (CCL) offers as it delivers a skilled listening service within a variety of health and social care settings.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can can be found here
The Value of Listening - 20th April 2022
Brigid Russell, Coach and Consultant
We are all holding a lot. We are all touched by loss, pain, grief. And we need space. Space to listen to ourselves, and to each other. Space to bear witness to what we have all been going through during the pandemic, and our continuing challenges.
This webinar considered the dimension of compassion in bereavement support. Looking at the outward and inward flow of compassion in relationships, it explored some helpful ways of navigating the space between supporting others and supporting ourselves in the process.
In support of this webinar, further information about the books Brigid referred to in her talk as well as more information on #SpacesForListening can be found here.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
The Compassionate Space in Bereavement Support: Caring for Others and Ourselves in the Process - 17th February 2022
Andy Gillies, Spiritual Care Lead, NHS Ayrshire and Arran
This webinar considered the dimension of compassion in bereavement support. Looking at the outward and inward flow of compassion in relationships, it explored some helpful ways of navigating the space between supporting others and supporting ourselves in the process.
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Supporting primary care teams to talk and be with people who are bereaved or experiencing living grief - 26th January 2022
Lynne Innes, Senior Educator, Grief & Bereavement, NHS Education for Scotland, Sarah Giffen, Healthcare Chaplain - Primary Care Chaplaincy Scotland, Regent Gardens Medical Centre, Kirkintilloch and Vicki Waqa, GPN National Coordinator, NHS Education for Scotland
This webinar addressed how to talk and be with people, whether patients, families, carers and colleagues, who are experiencing bereavement or 'living grief', considering the sense of loss that may follow knowing or caring for someone with a long-term or degenerative condition. It was also aimed to support health and social care professionals to access information and resources hosted on the NES Support Around Death website.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Accurate Completion of the Medical Certificate of Cause of Death - 26th October 2021
Dr Rosie Conway and Dr Steven Mills, Medical Reviewers, Death Certification Review Service, Healthcare Improvement Scotland
This webinar was aimed at healthcare professionals involved in completing Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs). It addressed the process of completing an MCCD, including guidance and tips on how to do so, and offered Q&A time for attendees to ask their own queries.
Please note that some parts of the presentation slides (as visually indicated on screen at the relevant parts) has been updated since the time of original recording, to reflect a subsequent revision to the guidance as of April 2022.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view (updated April 2022)
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Being Homeless at the End of Life - 22nd September 2021
Ellie Wagstaff, Policy and Public Affairs Manager (Scotland), Marie Curie and Dr Joy Rafferty, Specialty Doctor in Palliative Medicine, Strathcarron Hospice
This webinar addressed the provision of end-of-life and bereavement care for people experiencing homelessness, particularly their increased likelihood of encountering multiple, sudden and/or traumatic bereavements, the barriers they face to receiving equivalent levels of support, and how health and social care professionals can help to overcome the gap in quality of care. It also covered the needs of those who work in homeless support services and experience bereavement in the course of their work.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Faith, spiritual care & mourning rituals: understanding how to support people around the time of death - 7th July 2021
Linda Dunbar, Practice Educator (Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy), NHS Education for Scotland, and Lindsay Anderson, Community Mental Health Chaplain, NHS Lothian
This webinar provided an overview of how different faith communities deal with death, dying and bereavement, including mourning rituals and other factors, and how best we can meet the needs of all groups. It guided attendees on what to be aware of and how to deal with potential issues, such as how to ask the right questions of patients and their families, and how to draw on the right sources of information for specific faith matters.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
How we psychologically prepare and respond to major incidents with fatalities - 4th May 2021
Dr Katie Davis, Principal Clinical Psychologist, NHS GG&C Psychological Trauma Service
This webinar provided an overview of the psychological considerations relating to how the workforce prepares, responds and supports recovery following a major incident with fatalities. It discussed moral injury and Psychological First Aid, whilst looking at circumstances around COVID but also had wider relevance.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Why grief gets stuck and how we can help - 15th April 2021
Dr Susan Delaney, Clinical Psychologist
This webinar discussed how many health and social care professionals who encounter bereavement will find that they are working with people experiencing prolonged grief. It looked into what a prolonged grief disorder is, the risk factors and the simple strategies to help people who are stuck in their grief.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
A transcript for this video can be found here.
Supporting LGBT+ People around Death and Bereavement - 31st March 2021
Megan Snedden, Campaigns Policy & Research Officer, and Jake Laws, Programme Officer, Stonewall Scotland
This webinar discussed the specific issues affecting the LGBT+ community around end-of-life and in bereavement. It included reflections around COVID-related issues but also provided general relevance for all bereavement situations.
By agreement with the speakers, the recording and slides from this webinar were made available for one year only.
Additional resource - Click here to view the NES resource which was referenced during the webinar
Bereavement following substance use - 8th December 2020
Martha Rae, Senior Virtual Family Support Practitioner, Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs
This webinar discussed the additional challenges that someone who is bereaved may face when substance use is involved and how to offer someone support who is bereaved as a result of substance use.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
Dealing with bereavement as a health and social care worker in remote and rural communities - 3rd November 2020
Pam Nicoll, Programme Director, Remote & Rural Healthcare Educational Alliance, NHS Education for Scotland, Dawn Allan, Spiritual Care Lead, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, and Derek Brown, Lead Chaplain, NHS Highland
This webinar covered the challenges and opportunities that come from working in a remote, rural or island setting; predominantly considering bereavement-related situations but also other contexts more generally. Speakers shared their perspectives on what is different and what is not when working in these areas, and through case examples they highlighted topics such as maintaining boundaries and confidentiality, staff resilience and wellbeing, and the challenges of living and working in small local communities.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view the slides from Pam Nicoll
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel
Supporting children who are bereaved during and after the COVID-19 pandemic - 6th October 2020
Donna Hastings, Family Support Worker, St Columba's Hospice, and Dr Catriona MacPherson, Children and Families Practitioner, Fife Specialist Palliative Care, NHS Fife
This webinar covered how children & young people who are bereaved have been impacted by COVID-19, specifically addressing changes and lessons learnt from the pandemic. It reviewed the impact of having been bereaved during the pandemic and the effect of e.g. visiting & funeral restrictions. Additionally, it addressed how children who are bereaved may be dealing with the current situation & specific ways to support them.
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Webinar recording - click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel
Additional resources - Click here for the Childhood Bereavement Network COVID-19 webpage shared during the webinar
Managing Bereavement in the workplace - 15th September 2020
Andy Gillies, Bereavement & Spiritual Care Lead, NHS Golden Jubilee, and Dr Victoria Thomson, Principal Educator - Psychology, NHS Education for Scotland
This webinar covered approaches to supporting health and social care staff who are bereaved, including those who have experienced personal bereavement, death in the course of their work or the death of a colleague during a pandemic crisis. It also addressed issues around moral injury and the cumulative strain that may be experienced in the wake of multiple deaths. This session was not recorded however PowerPoint slides, along with some additional information / links, can be found below:
PowerPoint slides - Click here to view
Additional resources - Click here for a selection of additional resource / further information links
Death Certification in the time of COVID - 18th August 2020
Dr Ruth Stephenson, Deputy Senior Medical Reviewer, Healthcare Improvement Scotland (DCRS)
This webinar was a practical overview of the changes in the requirements and processes for death certification during the COVID pandemic. This session was not recorded however PowerPoint slides can be found below
PowerPoint slides - click here to view.
Grieving as well as possible during a pandemic crisis: two webinars on bereavement, loss and grief in the context of COVID-19
Dr Victoria Thomson, Principal Educator (Psychology), NHS Education for Scotland
Part One: Psychological perspectives on bereavement, loss and grief in the context of a pandemic crisis - 27th July 2020
This webinar covered theoretical models of grief as well as addressing recent changes to our understanding of the experience of loss. It also covered developments in the way we conceptualise interventions for bereavement in the context of a global pandemic, the role of psychology, and promoting resilience.
A recording of this session was made after the live webinar. Click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
PowerPoint slides - click here to view
Part Two: Psychological approaches to supporting service users who have experienced bereavement, loss, or grief during a pandemic crisis - 10th August 2020
This webinar covered how grief may affect people in the context of COVID-19, including anticipatory, communal, prolonged and/or complex grief. It also reviewed approaches to support people, the role of psychological first aid, and impact of bereavement on staff mental health and wellbeing.
A recording of this session was made after the live webinar. Click on the image to the right or here to watch on the NES Vimeo channel.
PowerPoint slides - click here to view
Upcoming events
If you're a health or social care professional in Scotland visit our Events page for information about our upcoming NES bereavement webinars / annual conference, and for registration details and links.