LOSING a loved one is among the most painful experiences we ever have to endure. Whether it is a beloved parent, a husband or wife, or – perhaps worst of all – a child, we can be left bereft, confused and aching with loss.

Different people react differently. Some bottle up their emotions, others dissolve into tears, or plunge into depression or despair.

The last thing anyone wants at such a time is to have to deal with the red tape that surrounds a loved one’s death.

That is why York Hospital wants to set up a bereavement suite.

At the moment, relatives of someone who has died have to traipse around different parts of the hospital to register the death, obtain a death certificate, and collect their loved one’s belongings and valuables.

If the hospital’s plans go ahead, however, all that could change.

The new suite would be an oasis of calm and tranquillity, where grieving relatives could start to come to terms with their loss while getting help to deal with the bureaucracy of death.

Marion Khan, the hospital’s clinical development team leader, said as well as making it easier for relatives to deal with the paperwork, the new suite would also create a “supportive environment where those who are grieving can talk to people or just gather as a family as part of the healing process in the days after losing a loved one”.

This is a hugely welcome move. The hospital has already secured £30,000 in funding from London-based health charity the King’s Fund. The hospital itself has earmarked a further £10,000.

All that is needed now is for council planning chiefs to approve the proposal. They are expected to discuss the plans in May. We hope that they do not stand in the way of this thoroughly worthwhile scheme.