Bereavement service is victim of NHS cuts
‘It can take two years to come to terms with a loss’
Published: 2 September, 2010
by TOM FOOT
DEATH counsellors – one of the most sensitive roles in the borough – are facing the axe in a bruising round of NHS cutbacks.
Neil Arnold, director of the Camden Bereavement Service, has appealed for “urgent help” to fight proposals he believes threaten “the end of our provision to Camden clients”.
The service – which has been based in Kentish Town for 41 years – has 90 trained counsellors who provide free long-term support to thousands of vulnerable people every year.
Many have lost an unborn baby, child, parent or lover and need help to cope with depression, drug addiction or are at risk of suicide.
The service, praised by doctors, is one of a number of bereavement charities under pressure from changes mapped out by NHS Camden. Camden’s Psychotherapy Unit, Camden Women & Health, Camden Age Concern Talking Therapies and the Bengali Helpline, are also at risk, according to an internal staff memo seen by the New Journal.
Mr Arnold, who has worked at the Bereavement Service since 1992, said the NHS was “hell bent” on moving to a system of “short-term interventions” – an attempt at a quick-fix solution for people with deep-rooted depression.
Bereavement counsellor Jacky Neville, who has lived in Gospel Oak for more than 25 years, said: “If these service were to go, we are talking about a tsunami of bereavement. It can take two years to begin to come to terms with someone dying.”
The fears have emerged after NHS Camden announced plans aimed at improving access to psychological therapies. The programme of free therapy – unveiled in 2008 – has so far failed to hit its targets.
Because the bidding process is so expensive – often costing more than £50,000 to organise – a small budget charity such as the Camden Bereavement Service cannot even afford to compete. The total annual funding for the service from Camden is £78,000 – making an application for funding almost impossible.
Bereavement volunteers are planning a pop concert to raise awareness of the changes and will be attending a public meeting in the Camden Centre from 4.30pm today (Thursday).
A NHS Camden spokesman said the consultation would be “robust”, adding: “NHS Camden’s priority is to provide excellent healthcare for our residents. In order for us to continue to do this we want to find a better and more efficient way of providing Camden residents with quicker and easier access to psychological therapy treatments which supports the NICE guidelines on mental health services.
“To support these guidelines and advice we are proposing new guidelines for how people access local psychological therapies. We have already involved all our current providers in developing a clear specification of how these services could be provided better. The tendering process will be competitive and will adhere to all rules of competition.”
• Residents can make their voices heard by responding to the consultation on the NHS Camden website www.camden.nhs.uk