Loss and Grief in Dementia

Key Considerations
3.3 Recognise loss and grief when you encounter it and
develop appropriate responses
The previous section describes loss and grief as fundamental parts of the dementia experience for
people with dementia and their families. As outlined in the first key consideration, it is essential that
healthcare staff are skilled and sensitive in supporting the person with dementia to communicate and
that they are aware of the types of losses that a person with dementia encounters in order to enable
them to recognise loss and grief reactions As a person with dementia’s ability to communicate verbally
changes, the responsibility lies with healthcare staff and family members to appreciate the connection
between dementia and grief, to recognise that that can be communicated in many ways and respond
to it appropriately (67).
It is equally important to develop knowledge of the types of losses which family members encounter
and to learn how best to respond to family members experiencing loss and grief. Section 4 contains
guidance on recognising, responding and acknowledging grief in a person with dementia, family
members and healthcare staff.
3.4 Reflect on how the loss and grief you encounter in your
work affects you
As a healthcare staff, your responses to the people you meet in your work are shaped by your past
experiences in and outside of work. You will meet a person with dementia and their family through your
own experiences of dementia and your experiences relating to loss and grief. Working in an environment
where you encounter multiple losses can put you in touch with and remind you of your own personal
losses. Your past experiences may affect your ability to care, your ability to connect with people you
support and your ability to remain compassionate in your role as a healthcare staff (57, 58).
In addition to some of the grief reactions outlined on page 12, some additional manifestations of grief
reported by healthcare staff are as follows:
• Feeling sad and tearful (59)
• Feeling guilt about what was not possible to achieve
• Feeling emotionally depleted/ depressed
• Physical manifestations – aches and pain (43)
• Feeling a sense of powerlessness – this can occur when a decision relating to a person with
dementia's end-of-life care is made which is contrary to the healthcare staff's ethical or moral
stance (35).
Healthcare staff need opportunities to engage with and detach from their grief. The added dimension
of grief in a healthcare setting is that loss and grief is a part of everyday work and how that is
experienced by you as a healthcare staff will depend on the culture of a workplace and other factors
such as your personal beliefs, values, history and personality in addition to the functioning of the
team within which you work.
Loss and Grief in Dementia
15