The RBKares team is proud to continue its support of Kingston Hospital by entering a 27 strong team into the hospital’s third Night to Remember walk on 7th September. Our team comprises Cressida Borrett, Fiona Boult, Vicky Bourne, Flora Clifton, Jane Dispaine, Lara Gibson, Miranda Gibson, Monica Gibson, Neil Gibson, Rog Green, Tess Green, Amanda Hennessy, Mathusa Janarthan, Mayuran Janarthan, Sarah Jenkins, Jackie Jillings, Natalie Jones, Andrew Kenyon, Kate Kenyon, Caroline Kerr, Cris Lovell-Smith, Hilary Metcalfe, Ian Price, Sheila Robson, Despo Stevens, Jon Stevens and Michael Trott. Many of us have lost someone important to us - or know someone who has been bereaved - and we will all be remembering and celebrating those lives on this walk. This walk is will raise funds to provide specialist psychological support to families going through unimaginable distress after losing a child. It will fund an experienced bereavement psychologist for the paediatric department at Kingston Hospital. Please support us if you can. Thank you.

From the paediatric family liaison team:

As paediatric family liaison nurses at Kingston Hospital, we support families at the most difficult and distressing times imaginable after losing a child. This is one of the most intensely painful experiences for parents and families to go through. Families describe how they feel like they’ve lost a part of themselves and struggle to return to normal life. The death of a child, no matter how it happens, is likely to be very traumatic. For some losing a child may make them feel like they’ve lost their role as parents. Guilt is a very common feeling, as is anger about the unfairness of it all. Death affects the whole family and can put a lot of strain on relationships, as we all grieve differently.

Money raised at this year’s Night to Remember will go towards providing specialist psychological support for these families delivered by an experienced bereavement psychologist. Up until now it has been a real struggle to provide this to families because of a lack of funding. Some families have funded this costly service themselves, while others have completely gone without this support. We want to change that and ensure all our families have access to a specialist psychologist as they grieve. Research shows that bereaved families are at higher risk of mental and physical poor health and that psychological support is very important in helping to improve this.

As paediatric nurses, we remember every child and family that we were not able to save and we will be walking in memory of them on Saturday 7 September. We will also have the privilege of walking alongside some of our bereaved families. These families are some of the strongest and bravest people we have ever met and, despite their own grief, they want to raise money so that other families get the best possible support if the worst happened to them.

Please donate generously and help us raise as much as we can for bereavement support.

Jasmin Carter-Allen & Corrinne Melian

Paediatric Family Liaison Nurse/ Key worker