A marathon effort for the Swan bereavement fund

John McGrath with the bereavement support team

A grateful recipient of bereavement support has thanked a team of specialist nurses at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury by running a marathon to raise money for their charity in honour of his best friend.

John McGrath, whose best friend Greg (known to friends as Reg) passed away at the hospital in 2018, ran the Manchester Marathon in April to support the Swan fund.

Although he had intended to sign up for the event’s half marathon race, John only realised he had put his name down for the full 26-mile race when he received the confirmation email. Regardless, he started training and managed to complete the marathon in under six hours, raising £2,144.95 for the Swan fund in Reg’s memory.

John said: “You don’t know about services like the Swan team until you need them. They were so supportive to me and Reg’s fiancée Anne-Marie, and then again when Reg’s dad died at Fairfield later in the year. I really wanted to raise some money to help the team to carry on helping people who have been bereaved.”

The Swan end of life care model offers dedicated support to patients in the last days of life and to their families into bereavement and beyond.

End of life care is a difficult period for patients and relatives and there are many choices available to them, for example the decision to sign the organ donor register and whether they would prefer to die at home.

As part of the new Swan charitable fund relatives are given ‘memory bags’ for deceased patients’ property, replacing the traditional plastic bag. Family are also encouraged to take locks of hair, take hand prints and spend close family time together before bereavement.

The Swan charitable fund is to enable staff to fund the bespoke equipment to provide families with to help create moments that will turn into memories that will last forever.

If you would like to support the Swan fund please contact the Charity Office via email at charity@pat.nhs.uk or telephone 0161 908 4497.