Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Timeline
Generic

Cheryl Cuthbertson

Bereavement Support Officer
Middlesbrough,MDB

Summary

Compassionate Bereavement Support Officer at North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust, adept at empathetic communication and proficient in IT software applications. Successfully guided bereaved families through complex processes, ensuring timely completion of documentation while fostering collaborative relationships with healthcare professionals. Committed to continuous professional development and enhancing support services for vulnerable individuals.

Overview

7
7
years of professional experience
3
3
years of post-secondary education

Work History

Bereavement Support Officer

North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust
Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough
02.2023 - Current
  • My main role as a Bereavement Support Officer is to offer practical advice and emotional support after death to relatives of the deceased, supporting them through all aspects of their bereavement.
  • This would include duties such as ensuring that paperwork pertaining to the deceased is accurately completed in a timely manner, through records and databases. All paperwork was completed using the NHS Software EDEN and Microsoft.
  • I am also responsible for arranging funerals for stillbirth/NVF(Non-Viable Fetus) and patients who have passed away at North Tees Hospital with no known next of kin, whilst following procedures and protocols and liaising with key staff including midwives, funeral directors, chaplaincy, mortuary and pathology staff.
  • I often support and guide relatives of the deceased when they asked to visit their loved one as this was a very emotional time for the family.
  • I also liaised daily with a range of staff in the hospital including the mortuary, medical examiners, and external agencies such as the coroner’s office and the registrar’s office in regards to paperwork, medical certificates, and financial arrangements. It was essential to work as part of a team to ensure an efficient, caring and supportive service to bereaved relatives following the death of an adult/child/baby.
  • As a bereavement support officer I am the first port of call for the relatives of the deceased and would be asked to act as a liaison for any relatives who would wish to speak to any hospital service such as a Chaplain, Mortuary staff, or Medical Examiner.
  • Recently I was able to add to my CPD as I had the opportunity to view a post mortem, this helped me witness a process that many relatives unfortunately have to go through pertaining to their loved one. By going through this training I was able to give a clear understanding of that particular process to the relatives.

Trainee Advocate

Middlesbrough and Stockton MIND
Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough
07.2022 - 02.2023
  • My role as an advocate included supporting people to have their feelings and wishes heard, and their rights and choices respected. I was mostly required as an independent mental health advocate (IMHA), and traveled to mental health hospitals as; Roseberry Park, Sandwell Park, Lustrum Vale. These hospital were not exclusive to being an IMHA I also travelled to appointments to meet clients at their homes who had been discharged on a community treatment order. I would arranged appointments based on the frequency needed by my clients but still on a regular basis this gave my clients an opportunity to voice their issues and if they required me to discuss these with any professionals. Clients could discuss anything from treatment they were receiving, adult social care needs, to supporting an application for further education. Alongside meeting with clients I was expected to attend MDT meetings and hospital ward rounds, occasionally attending tribunals and managers meetings. All information relating to clients and meetings I had attended were kept on a confidential software platform, report writing and up to date notes were key elements as part of my role as advocate, all stages were met with consent from clients on a regular basis. As I managed my own caseload of clients with different needs time management and organisation skills were essential to be able to prioritise especially when dealing with urgent and time sensitive requests.
  • As my role developed I was required to extend my advocacy role to a relevant persons representative (RPR), which could involve interaction with the local DOLS team i.e. writing quarterly reports, which generally meant travelling to a nursing or care home. General advocate was another aspect of my advocacy role, which involved supporting my client with a specific need at that time.
  • While carrying out my my tasks in different advocacy roles I was required to complete face to face and online mandatory training. Also, weekly management meetings and group peer reviews were mandatory within the MIND organisation. The group peer review included bringing a specific case to discuss and open the forum to my work colleagues to bring ideas to help support in any way.
  • When I first joined the advocacy team I was asked to implement an evaluation of the role, specifically in Roseberry Park, regarding what patients thought the role involved and what they felt about having an advocate to support them. The first part of the evaluation was to formulate questions regarding the role, for this I collaborated with my work colleagues, to then interact with the service managers of Roseberry Park to deliver the questionnaires. I continued to work on this service evaluation while managing my case load.

Family Friend Volunteer

Safe Families
Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough
09.2021 - 07.2022
  • As a Family friend my role is to work directly with families. I ensure to work alongside and give support to parents and children when they need it most, making sure they feel less isolated. Initially I meet with the families to hopefully make a connection, the family support manager then creates a short term care plan in regards to the family and myself. The duties in the care plan can vary, from solely spending time with children, taking them for days out to do some activities so the parents/carers can have a break, or befriending the parents/carer which could include a chat or helping around the house. Active listening and a non judgemental attitude are key elements when befriending a family, along with displaying empathy and compassion. The families are referred by services, or organisations as their background can be very complex which is why these skills are essential.
  • Most care plans can last up to 12 weeks, in this time we try to support the family in their specific needs but also empower them to be able to thrive on their own when the care plan comes to a close. As these families are referred to this service because of additional needs, some can come from very serious situations and it is paramount that safeguarding polices are implemented at every moment when interacting with all the families.

Samaritans Volunteer

Samaritans
Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough
01.2018 - 05.2021
  • Initially I joined Samaritans as a listening volunteer, a support line for those who are in crisis point or needed someone to listen. I successfully engaged with our service users via telephone calls, responding to emails, and face to face sessions. Utilising my counselling and psychological skills, I offered the callers a safe space to talk about their current situation while ensuring it was a non-judgemental and open forum for them. Throughout these calls I was faced with safeguarding concerns which I addressed while offering any additional support the caller may have needed at that time as this sometimes would involve signposting to other organisations that met the caller's need at that time. Being able to have this hands-on experience alongside my degree enabled me to strengthen my communication and listening skills, both verbal and non-verbal, while overcoming a variety of issues, such as suicidal ideation, and ensuring I utilised reflexivity after every communication to strive to improve any area for those I supported.
  • Shortly after I became a full listening volunteer, I was given the opportunity to become a leader; this involved being available on shifts for other volunteers to offer support and guidance while successfully handling emergency situations, such as ambulance call out or threats to life. This allowed me to strengthen my communication skills with other volunteers and experience the importance of the volunteers needing to debrief at the end of a shift to me to ensure the shifts had fully closed and resolved any issues which may have arisen.
  • As a leader in branch, I was asked to undertake another role as mentor. It was my duty to mentor new volunteers, supporting them to carry out the organisations' procedures and policies while supporting them with their initial interactions with callers, ensuring they were equally supported.
  • After a few months of being asked to take on these roles I was approached to become part of the branch caller support team, this ranged from setting up extra support to the most vulnerable callers, collating information and disseminating this back to the branch. This opportunity led onto a regional officer role for caller support where I positively collaborated with other regional officers and the caller support staff at central office to promote changes within the organisation while guiding and supporting eight other branches in the North region.
  • This volunteering experience has allowed me to gain experience with an array of different age groups, in various difficult situations, as the service had no age restrictions in place. I positively supported people in their time of need, while offering a supportive and safe place to explore their emotions. Relevant safeguarding criteria was in place for any caller under the age of 18, and vulnerable adults, and I have now gained extensive knowledge in this area.

Education

Bachelor of Science - Psychology And Counselling

Teesside University
Middlesbrough, United Kingdom
09.2018 - 06.2021

Skills

Proficient in IT software applications

Calmness under pressure

Prioritization and documentation management

Time management proficiency

Empathetic communication expertise

Established collaborative relationships with stakeholders

Continuous professional development

Strong interpersonal communication

Timeline

Bereavement Support Officer

North Tees and Hartlepool Foundation Trust
02.2023 - Current

Trainee Advocate

Middlesbrough and Stockton MIND
07.2022 - 02.2023

Family Friend Volunteer

Safe Families
09.2021 - 07.2022

Bachelor of Science - Psychology And Counselling

Teesside University
09.2018 - 06.2021

Samaritans Volunteer

Samaritans
01.2018 - 05.2021

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Cheryl CuthbertsonBereavement Support Officer