Families in the region will have the opportunity to remember loved ones this weekend at a special memorial service.

The renal unit at Heartlands Hospital in Birmingham, part of the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, has held a service of thanksgiving and remembrance for the past two years for bereaved relatives of patients who were on the unit to celebrate and remember the lives of their loved ones.

Dr Vijayan Suresh, clinical director for renal medicine at the Trust, said: “This service is an opportunity for bereaved relatives to remember their loved ones in a peaceful setting along with other families experiencing their own individual loss. We have found from experience that many families and relatives find this kind of remembrance service extremely comforting, so we are pleased we are able to help families in this way.”

Dr Jyoti Baharani, a consultant physician and nephrologist on the renal unit at Heartlands, said the unit was keen to continue offering relatives this chance to join together in remembrance.

She said: “With the nature of the conditions we treat on the unit we do spend a lot of time with patients as they receive treatment over a long period of time and we get to know them and their relatives, while they will get to know each other as well as they will see the same faces. Therefore, we felt it would be of much comfort for everyone to come together to share in their grief but also celebrate their lives.”

The service will be held on Sunday at 3pm at Lyndon Methodist Church, Melton Avenue, off Coventry Road, Solihull, B92 7QX. For further information on the service and to confirm attendance please contact Christine Laukam on 0121 424 2158.