A Gold Standard for Bereavement Support Signposting
AtaLoss is Pioneering and Aiming for a Gold Standard for Bereavement Support Signposting
Why effective signposting matters
We believe bereaved people deserve the highest possible standard of signposting.
Everyone who has been bereaved should be able to find suitable support and information whenever they need it, helping them to navigate their grief and protect their future wellbeing.
Anyone encountering bereaved people through their work or in the community should also know where to direct them to explore the support available.
There are thousands of bereavement services across the UK, ranging from national specialists to local and informal support. However, counselling is often the only option considered or suggested, and waiting times can be long.
People are bereaved in different circumstances. National or regional services specialising in a particular relationship, age group or cause of death can be especially helpful.⁷
Small, informal services provided by faith and other community groups can also offer valuable local support alongside specialist services. However, people may not know that these services exist.
Different support at different times
Bereavement can present many different challenges. People may need support before a death, around the time of death or much later.
They may also prefer different forms of support, including:
information and self-help resources
social media/online support or in person help
Individual or peer group support
creative activities and art groups
residential courses and retreats.
Providing a range of options enables people to find support that better suits their circumstances, personality, learning style and preferences.
People living in rural areas or places with limited local provision should also be able to find a range of support. The same applies to underserved ethnic, faith and cultural groups.
Grief can also affect concentration, memory and the ability to process information. Some people may experience trauma, depression or suicidal thoughts, while grief may resurface in response to an anniversary or later life event.
Unsupported bereavement is associated with loneliness, mental and physical ill-health, substance misuse, relationship breakdown, loss of employment and crime.⁸
Help may be needed urgently, and timely support can prevent difficulties from becoming more serious.
The scale of the need
Around six million people are significantly bereaved in the UK each year.¹
88% report feeling alone in their grief.²
59% of bereaved people do not approach a bereavement service at all. Of those who do, 56% experience difficulties accessing support.³
One in three people report a serious impact on their mental health following a significant bereavement.⁴
42% of those wishing to access formal bereavement support do not receive it.⁵
70% of people who experienced a close bereavement could not access the support they would have liked.⁹
Of those who wanted counselling but could not access it, almost 1 in 5 take prescription medication.⁹
However, research indicates that 85–90% of bereaved people will grieve healthily if they receive timely and appropriate support.⁶
Problems with current bereavement signposting
Bereavement support across the UK is varied and patchy.
Information is often limited or spread across different platforms.
Usually, the same few services are listed, which can contribute to long waiting times.
Printed materials become out of date and can be lost.
There is no unified point of access or routine process for referral.
There is a gap in knowledge, confidence and connection. Effective signposting can help bridge that gap.
Our aims reflect the UK Commission on Bereavement’s recommendation that diverse bereavement support should be offered at multiple points.⁵
Signposting cannot simply be a short list of services on a webpage or a leaflet distributed once.
It should be recognised as a navigation intervention that is specified, standardised and evaluated. It must be a living service, available at every potential point of need and actively offered rather than left to chance.
AtaLoss’ Gold Standard Signposting Service Aims
1. Online
Information should be kept up-to-date and available whenever it is needed.
An online service can be regularly reviewed and updated. It also allows bereaved people and those supporting them to return to it at any time.
2. Dedicated
A dedicated team should research and build relevant content, working with service and information providers to review and update listings for accuracy.
Signposting should be an ongoing service rather than a static directory or short list of links.
3. Choice
A full range of services should be included to reflect different bereavement circumstances and suit people’s preferences, availability and affordability.
This should include national and regional specialists alongside valuable local and informal support.
4. Comprehensive
Signposting should help people find support addressing the many ways bereavement can affect their lives.
This should include:
emotional and therapeutic support;
practical and administrative information;
financial and legal help;
physical and mental health support; and
services relevant to people’s ethnicity, culture, gender and faith.
Bringing different forms of information and support together enables people to find more holistic help.
5. Emergency help
Emergency and crisis support should be immediately visible and easy to access.
Someone who needs urgent help should not have to search through several pages to find it.
6. Accessible
Information should be sensitively designed and written, visually accessible and simple to navigate.
It should be available in commonly used UK languages and capable of translation.
People should also be able to match information and services to relevant circumstances, including:
how the person died;
their relationship to the person who died;
their age; and
their location
7. Equitable
Support should be listed for all parts of the UK and for underserved groups.
People should be able to find support wherever they live, including in rural areas and places where local provision may be limited.
They should also be able to search for national and online services when suitable local support is unavailable.
8. Lifelong
Support should be available from anticipatory grief through to potential triggers many years later.
People may need help at different times:
before someone dies
immediately following a death
when arranging a funeral
while dealing with practical and administrative responsibilities
during anniversaries and special occasions, or
If grief resurfaces in response to another loss or significant life event.
Signposting should be offered at multiple points, not only after a death.
9. Free
Signposting should be available to everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances.
It should be free for bereaved people and for the professionals and organisations supporting them.
10. Endorsed and adopted
Gold Standard signposting should be recognised and adopted across professional bereavement pathways.
Professionals should routinely direct bereaved people to it. Service providers should help keep information accurate, and organisations should share it widely so that people know where to find support when they need it.
Gold Standard signposting could make an important contribution to the personalised care required by the Health and Care Act 2022.
AtaLoss.org: working towards the Gold Standard
AtaLoss.org is a UK-wide bereavement signposting and information website.
It brings together more than 2,000 services and resources, which are regularly reviewed and added to.
The website is used by:
bereaved people
bereavement services
GPs and social prescribers
funeral directors
mental health services, and
other professionals supporting people following a death.
People are also directed to AtaLoss.org by government, media helplines, local authorities, businesses and community organisations.
Independent evaluation found that 86% of users considered AtaLoss.org helpful.
The evaluation also demonstrated the importance of active referral. When AtaLoss.org was promoted to participants in the online The Bereavement Journey®:
72% accessed the website; and
93% of those who accessed it found it helpful.
Where AtaLoss.org was not actively promoted, substantially fewer people used it.
Referrals from professionals are therefore needed to turn availability into access.
We have not yet achieved every aspect of our Gold Standard ambitions. However, through a growing number of partnerships, we are working towards a national and sustainable model
What AtaLoss is calling for
AtaLoss is calling for and working towards:
the adoption of Gold Standard signposting across every professional bereavement pathway
universal routine referral to AtaLoss.org at multiple points throughout grief - including medical examiners and registrars
sustainable funding to maintain and develop our national signposting service.
Further information
Read our article: What is Effective Bereavement Support?
Contact office@ataloss.org.
Please describe the service as:
AtaLoss.org: a UK-wide bereavement signposting and information website.
References
1. Office for National Statistics (2026) Deaths registered in England and Wales: 2025. Newport: ONS. 2. Sue Ryder / Censuswide (2024) Back for a Moment campaign survey, fieldwork 21–23 October 2024, 1,001 UK adults bereaved of a close relative. Available at: sueryder.org. 3. Harrop, E., Goss, S., Farnell, D., Longo, M., Byrne, A., Barawi, K., Torrens-Burton, A., Nelson, A., Seddon, K., Machin, L., Sutton, E., Roulston, A., Finucane, A., Penny, A., Smith, K.V., Sivell, S. and Selman, L.E. (2021) ‘Support needs and barriers to accessing support: baseline results of a mixed-methods national survey of people bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic’, Palliative Medicine, 35(10), pp. 1985–1997. doi: 10.1177/02692163211043372. 4. Rheingold, A.A., Williams, J.L. and Bottomley, J.S. (2024) ‘Prevalence and co-occurrence of psychiatric conditions among bereaved adults’, JAMA Network Open, 7(6), e2415325. doi:. 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.15325. 5. UK Commission on Bereavement (2022) Bereavement is Everyone’s Business: Full Report. London: UK Commission on Bereavement. 6. Stroebe, M., Schut, H. and Stroebe, W. (2007) ‘Health outcomes of bereavement’, The Lancet, 370(9603), pp. 1960–1973. 7. Aoun, S.M. et al. (2015) ‘Who needs bereavement support? A population based survey of bereavement risk and support need’, PLoS ONE, 10(3). 8. Nielsen, M.K. et al. (2025) ‘Grief trajectories and long-term health effects in bereaved relatives: a prospective, population-based cohort study with ten-year follow up’, Frontiers in Public Health, 13:1619730. 9. Sue Ryder (2022) A better route through grief: support for people facing grief across the UK. Research by ClearView Research; national survey of 8,555 bereaved people, of whom 4,403 experienced a close bereavement. London: Sue Ryder.