I am writing to you in response to the article in the Sutton Guardian dated Feb 15 regarding the closure of the bereavement counselling service for the Sutton and Merton area.

I lost my father to a painful battle with lung cancer in November last year. I found his suffering and the subsequent loss of him incredibly difficult to deal with. I was struggling with depression and I knew I needed support and help with facing what had happened. So, in December I phoned the number of the bereavement counselling service stated on Sutton Council's website. I was informed that they were no longer taking on new clients as the service was to be closing in due course. The only advice they could give me was to pay for private counselling. I do not have the funds to do this.

I did manage to find another counselling service called Cruse that runs on donations. When I phoned them it was established that the Sutton/ Worcester Park area was not covered by their services. Neither the Kingston, nor the Epsom and Ewell branch could help me, even though I live less than two miles from Ewell.

I did eventually find help at St Raphael's Hospice in North Cheam where my father had stayed for a short time. There is a bereavement counselling service provided there.

This has been invaluable to me. I am deeply concerned that there are so many people in the local area that would not have the opportunity to use this service if they had not had any association with the hospice.

With the removal of the Sutton and Merton bereavement service, there is now a large area of South London that is not covered by what I consider to be an essential support service. I understand that the money has been used to improve another very important part of the health service in the local area but this should not have resulted in the closure of the bereavement service.

In the few weeks it took me to find help I felt lost and had the feeling of not knowing who to turn to. I needed support in person, not over the phone. The feelings and emotions I was experiencing can potentially be very harmful. As stated in the article, bereaved people are not mentally ill, but perhaps without the necessary help from a bereavement service, they could end up so.

I am only writing of my own experiences and I hope the people that have been using the Sutton and Merton bereavement service have been able to find help elsewhere. I have also written to the Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust on this matter, I believe they should reconsider their decision to close this service.

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