Men have very different coping styles from women when bereaved, and tend not to access conventional bereavement support services. Weborrowed from the Men's Shed model started in Australia, and proposed that a Shed might be a way of supporting bereaved men. Using a £500k Department of Health grant, a new building was created on the hospice site, housing the Family Support team with an additional space for a Men's Shed. Funding for a Men's Shed Coordinator was sourced from Halton CCG.

The shed officially opened in July 2014. We believe it is the first Men's Shed project associated with a hospice. It is open to men aged 18+. Currently 50 men access the Shed. Most of those who attend are eitherbereaved or caring for someone with a life limiting illness. The space allows men to be men in their own natural environment, the workplace. They pursue hobbies, make friendships and support each other. Weestimate there are at least 4500 men within travelling distance of the hospice shed who do not access any bereavement support. Early signs are that the Shed is helping men who access it to work through their grief in a safeopen informalenvironment. It also provides a space in which other health promotion interventions could take place. The Shed therefore has the potential to impact positively on wider Public Healthand social capital in the longer term. We present a summary of how the Shed started, and its activities in the first year.