Learning from the experience of loss: people bereaved during intensive care

In Hartlepool Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) nurses have recently addressed the needs of relatives while they are visiting the department and afterwards during their bereavement. However in order to determine how best to improve nurses' service we decided to ask those people bereaved their opinions about their experience in order to meet their requirements in the most appropriate way. 16 recently bereaved relatives were interviewed concerning a variety of areas, including information they received in the ITU, support they were given by nurses, how they coped after their loss, and suggestions for improvements. Although this was a small study important areas for improvement were highlighted, and we have now been able to address these further in nursing service and make plans for future developments.