"As doctors, we deal with death and grief as part of our job. We help others navigate through it, prepare them for it. But when it’s one of us, it hits differently. You’d think we’d be able to handle it, but it’s just not that simple. There’s something profound about losing a medical colleague; it shakes us to our core.”

When a Doctor Dies: Responding after an Unexpected Death or Suicide

This pdf document has been produced by Doctors' Health NSW to support hospital managers and leaders in responding to the unexpected death of a doctor, including by suicide.

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When a Doctor Dies:

Responding after an Unexpected Death or Suicide

 

 

Doctors Affected by Suicide Research Study 2024

Doctors' Health NSW in collaboration with The University of Notre Dame Australia, conducted a research study to explore doctors' experiences following the unexpected death of a medical colleague due to suicide, misadventure or other causes.

The study aimed to understand the personal and occupational effects of such losses, identify available support structures, and determine what participating doctors found helpful or unhelpful. 

The research study is currently being submitted for publication and will be available here shortly. If you would like to request a copy of the research study publication, please contact Doctors' Health NSW. 

Support Services

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call Emergency Services on 000

For crisis support 

Lifeline Australia Call 13 11 14

Suicide Call Back Service Call 1300 659 467

GriefLine Call 1300 845 745

Beyond Blue Call 1300 22 4636

CRANA Bush Crisis Line for rural and remote health practitioners. Call 1800 805 391 

For ongoing support

Doctors' Health NSW 24/7 phoneline Call 02 9437 6552

Doctors' Health Line (national 24/7 phone service) Call 1800 006 888

StandBy - Support After Suicide Call 1300 727 247 

NALAG NSW (National Association for Loss and Grief) Call 02 6882 9222

Nurse and Midwife Support - for nursing colleagues. Call 1800 667 877 

Black Dog Institute

The Essential Network for eligible Australian health professionals

Conversations Matter

R U OK?

QLife Call 1800 184 527

13YARN Call 13 92 76

Transcultural Mental Health Line Call 1800 648 911

The Suicide Safety Plan is a free app that allows users to create a digital suicide safety plan. A suicide safety plan can help to keep you safe when you are low, overwhelmed and having thoughts of suicide.

Suicide - Truths and Myths  

Professor Dame Clare Gerada is President of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). She is also Chair of the Charity Doctors in Distress, whose aim is to reduce the rate of suicide amongst health professionals.

Read Clare Gerada's paper; Suicide and the myth of Sisyphus published by the BMJ: 10 May 2021.

Dr Rachel Gibbons is a UK consultant psychiatrist and expert on suicide and the effect that a death by suicide has on clinicians. 

Watch Rachel Gibbon's presentation; Confronting the 'truth' about suicide and challenging the myths Doctors' Health Alliance Conference Adelaide 2022

Read Rachel Gibbon's paper; Eight 'truths' about suicide published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 September 2023.

After Suicide: Postvention Resources

Responding to the Death by Suicide of a Colleague in Primary Care: A Postvention Framework - SOM UK (Supporting Occupational Health and Wellbeing Professionals)

A Manager's Guideline for the Sudden Death of a Colleague - from ACE (Anaesthesia Continuing Education), Wellbeing Special Interest Group

Life in Mind

StandBy - Support After Suicide - A workplace toolkit to assist people and communities bereaved or impacted by suicide

Postvention Australia Guidelines - A resource for organisations and individuals providing services to people bereaved by suicide

THIRRILI - Indigenous suicide postvention service

After Suicide: A resource for GPs - An RACGP resource to help GPs respond to suicide in their communities 

CHARLEE - A suicide prevention and postvention hub made by LGBTIQA+ people

Consensus Statement on Postvention Planning - Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand

Conversations and Care - Further Resources 

Conversations Matter - Core principles Postvention-focused conversations

Those bereaved by suicide - what do I say? 

When communities are affected by suicide - what do I say?

Grief after Suicide - Possible Experiences  

Common Experiences with Suicide Bereavement

Unanswered Questions and the Cup Analogy

Looking after yourself after a bereavement

Returning to work after a bereavement

Podcasts and Talks about Grief

Griefcast by Cariad Lloyd. Multiple award winning podcast featuring discussions with people who have experienced significant losses, providing a space for shared experiences and coping strategies.

TED Talk: We don't move on from grief, we move forward with it. Nora McInerny talks about her own experiences of grief and ways to integrate loss. 

Peer Reviewed Articles