The Family Liaison Officer is a referred service, please speak to your service lead about being referred to this service.
The main aim of the family liaison officer (FLO) is to support patients and families through the potentially difficult process of an investigation for a serious incident.
In many instances the FLO will support a person through the entire process, from investigation to its conclusion and in the event of a death, from investigation to inquest. The FLO is also able to signpost families to specific services such as bereavement counselling.
Every family/patient will have different needs, which will require the FLO to work closely with the investigations team to ensure they are treated with compassion and respect, and kept fully updated throughout the stages of an investigation.
The Patient and Family Liaison Officer will:
- Develop a supportive and ethical relationship with the family by building trust.
- Act as a single point of contact and sharing information between families and the Investigating officer.
- Provide information about additional services available to families and signposting to support agencies, such as bereavement support charities.
- Explain how Coroners work if appropriate, so that families can access related services and support.
- Record any contact they have with the family.
- Share questions or concerns raised by family with the investigation team.
- Ensure equality and diversity needs are considered.
- Update families about the progress of the investigation.
- Ensure families continue to be supported, if needed, when the investigation closes.
