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Grief, family and staff support

Residents & families Aged care staff Facility leadership 5 min read

By Dr Josh Hatch, FRACGP

Grief is a natural response to loss 33. For families of people in aged care it can begin long before the death, as the person they knew changes with frailty or dementia. Staff who have cared for a resident for months or years grieve too.

Numbers in the text link to the 4 sources listed at the foot of this page.

When grief does not ease

A 2017 review of 14 studies estimated that about one in ten adults bereaved by a non-violent death are at risk of prolonged grief disorder, in which intense grief persists and gets in the way of daily life. The rate was higher in older bereaved people. The studies varied a great deal, so the estimate is approximate 31.

If grief is still stopping someone from living their life many months after a death, it is worth seeing a GP. Help is available, and asking for it is not a sign of weakness.

Where to get support

These national services are listed by Palliative Care Australia 33.

  • Lifeline. 13 11 14, 24 hours a day 33.

  • Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement. 1800 642 066 33.

  • Beyond Blue. 1300 22 4636 33.

  • MensLine Australia. 1300 78 99 78, 24 hours a day 33.

  • 13YARN. 13 92 76, support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 33.

  • Your GP. For a check on how you are going, and referral if you need more support.

Staff grieve too

Care staff often know residents better than anyone apart from family. A US study of 140 nursing assistants in long-term care found that they felt more prepared for a resident’s death when they knew how unwell the resident was, had support from co-workers, and when hospice was involved 32. This was an observational study in another country 32.

Practical support is simple: telling staff when a resident is dying, giving them a chance to say goodbye, a short debrief after a death, and a way to mark the loss.

What the Standards require

Providers must give family and others supporting the resident information about the dying process and about loss and bereavement, and must keep them informed and supported, including during the last days of life 3.

Related pages on this site

Sources cited on this page

  1. 3 Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (November 2025; implemented 1 November 2025). Outcome 5.7 Palliative care and end-of-life care, Actions 5.7.1 to 5.7.4. View source
  2. 31 Lundorff M, Holmgren H, Zachariae R, Farver-Vestergaard I, O’Connor M. Prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in adult bereavement: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2017;212:138–49. (14 studies of non-violent bereavement.) View source
  3. 32 van Riesenbeck I, Boerner K, Barooah A, Burack OR. Preparedness for resident death in long-term care: the experience of front-line staff. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2015;50:9–16. (Observational; interviews with 140 nursing assistants in US long-term care.) View source
  4. 33 Palliative Care Australia. Understanding grief. (Accessed October 2026; lists national support services.) View source

See every source cited across the palliative and end-of-life care section →

Written by Dr Josh Hatch, FRACGP. General information only, reflecting his reading of the published evidence as at October 2026. It is not individual medical advice, does not create a doctor–patient relationship, and must not be used to start, stop or change any treatment. It is not legal advice. Evidence, Australian regulatory requirements and state laws on advance care planning, substitute decision-making and voluntary assisted dying change — always confirm current advice with the treating GP, the state health department or a lawyer.

This is general education, not a clinical protocol. The doctors who practise with Umbrella Aged Care are independent general practitioners, and each makes their own clinical decisions with the resident and family. Your GP’s advice for an individual may differ from what is written here. If it does, please ask them to talk it through with you.

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