TASC, The Ambulance Staff Charity, is proud to announce the launch of a new training programme to provide TASC volunteers with the knowledge and skills to support their colleagues following a bereavement.
In response to these unprecedented times, and acknowledging the huge challenges that ambulance staff are currently facing, it is more important than ever that we support ambulance staff with the impact of grief and bereavement. To help, TASC is working with Cruse Bereavement Care to offer Loss and Bereavement Awareness Training to their Peer Support Volunteers. TASC’s Peer Support Volunteers are serving ambulance staff who have been specially trained to offer mental, physical and financial wellbeing information and guidance to their colleagues.
The online training is delivered by a registered UK counsellor and gives participants an overview of the impact of grief or loss on individuals and their loved ones. Over the course of the session, participants learn how to communicate with people after a bereavement, how to support someone through the grieving process and when to refer someone for extra support.
The first online training session was delivered on the 27th May and was well received by participants.
“Thank you for providing the webinar today, really informative and enjoyable session. It was interesting to compare the grieving process to our current circumstances with Covid-19 and I’m grateful to have had a place today.”
Marieanne Curtis, Volunteer Manager, said:
Become a volunteer“Although not trained as bereavement counsellors, these volunteers will be on hand to provide initial support to colleagues in the event of a death in service or a personal bereavement. As with all of volunteering roles, our new bereavement support volunteers will have the full support and supervision from our Volunteering and Wellbeing Support Teams.
Currently 1 in 3 of our volunteers are trained in peer support and we hope to be able to roll out this training to the rest of our Peer Support Volunteers to establish a country-wide network of people able to support ambulance staff when they’re experiencing bereavement, grief or loss.”