In our latest blog, Marc talks about the importance of high quality bereavement care and how the newly published NBCP guidelines can help healthcare staff in working to high standards.
I hope you've managed to avoid the excesses of the recent heat and found novel ways to keep cool during this unprecedented summer.
It was a hot one on Tuesday as I travelled to Ealing to speak at the University of West London and the launch Dr Julie Jones' perinatal loss proficiency framework. This has been a labour of love for Julie and what she has produced is a fantastic resource for educators, students, professionals and baby loss charities alike.
I was privileged to speak about progress with the National Bereavement Care Pathway and in particular the nine standards of care. This was after Rosie, a student midwife at UWL, shared her own powerful and moving story of her own losses. The need for high standards in bereavement care were clear for all to see - making memories, sharing information, informed choices and many other aspects of care were highlighted.
Donna Ockenden also spoke on the findings of her review published for NHS England earlier this year, and in particular the immediate and essential actions which includes the importance of trusts adopting the NBCP.
Recently we reached the great milestone of 100 England hospital trusts signing up to the NBCP. The article on the Sands website highlights my recent visit to East Lancashire Hospitals Trust and the great work of Kathryn Sansby and the team at Burnley, who were the 100th hospital to take on board the NBCP. There are only 25 or so to sign up - if this is yours, please get in touch and let us know how we can help you to do so.
I am pleased to say that we have recently updated the NBCP guidance materials. This has taken longer than planned, partly because we had so much feedback from parents, professionals and other contributors. We are so grateful for everyone's contributions and we hope the new pathways reflect this collaborative approach. Please feedback your thoughts ready for the next iteration. In future, we are hoping to do away with the PDFs and to have pathways available which are much easier to navigate, with relevant links to helpful pages and resources. Again, let us know of your ideas and suggestions.
In the autumn we'll also be looking at how we can update our e-learning for healthcare module and will start to prepare for our annual NBCP workshops, which will likely take place in January 2023.
So in summary it's been a busy summer, a busy year, with much achieved, but much more to do.
Watch this space for future updates in the autumn, and please stay in touch.