Bereavement Lead Midwife

The post holder will be a practising midwife who will lead, and work as a member of the team within the maternity service providing individualised care to bereaved women and their families. The post holder will lead on providing support and advice to women and their families who have experienced bereavement due to miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality or neonatal death. The post holder will work alongside the Lead Consultant to effectively manage Rainbow Clinic The post holder will provide clinical knowledge within the maternity services for the bereaved and their families and will play an integral part in care delivery. The post holder will provide training of health care professionals in bereavement care. The post holder will be an expert midwifery practitioner leading the development and delivery of high-quality midwifery services with a focus on the needs of bereaved families. The post holder will be willing to work with families where when/if a maternal death has occurred. To assist in the development and continually review of guidelines in relation to medical termination of pregnancy, late miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death to achieve best practice. To ensure that the bereavement service is developed in partnership with service users and stakeholders and that it meets national guidance through the audit cycle. Give specialist advice to doctors, nurses and midwives on specific aspects of bereavement care., To be responsible for the assessment of care needs and the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care to women and their babies throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. Work collaboratively supporting the bereavement activities of the maternity team, in particular oversight of bereavement related patient contacts (face-to-face, phone, email or letter), gaining the required consents for funeral direction and having oversight of funeral arrangements for each family. To work in close liaison with the maternity department, the Trust bereavement team, mortuary, Chaplaincy, Charities, agencies laboratory services, registrar of births and deaths, the coroners officers and funeral directors. To lead patient support and liaison with internal/external agencies with regard to funeral arrangements. The post-holder is expected to act as mentor for preceptee midwives and be involved in the mentoring and assessing of students including basic and/or post-basic students. Generate, submit and present reports of cases and be actively involved in audits of their service Deliver Antenatal care to women in a subsequent pregnancy to include, antenatal appointments. Lead in the service and other group meetings as required including bereavement steering groups, external and internal agencies., · The post-holder is expected to act as mentor for preceptee midwives and be involved in the mentoring and assessing of students including basic and/or post-basic students. · Generate, submit and present reports of cases and be actively involved in audits of their service · Lead the bereavement team in supporting families visiting their baby on the delivery unit or in the mortuary. They will help to coordinate this with the delivery unit and mortuary teams. · Be involved in supporting families and staff to create memories, washing babies, arranging blessings and preparing babies for funeral having knowledge and understanding of religious, cultural and spiritual needs. · Lead in the releasing of deceased babies from the ward for funeral or home, in line with current Policies and standard operating procedures. · Co-ordinate and assist in the transfer of deceased babies to the mortuary, supporting parents, maintaining dignity, respect and wishes of the parents. · Assist patients during their stay on the ward, with memory making, spending time with their baby, emotional support. Ensuring the privacy and dignity of all patients are maintained being mindful of patient confidentiality. · Deliver Antenatal care to women in a subsequent pregnancy to include, antenatal appointments, Antenatal bookings and working alongside the lead consultant within Rainbow clinic · Actively complete all documentation, including face to face discussions, telephone or email conservations with parents, pathways and outside referrals and agencies. · Be responsible for liaising with bereaved patients/relatives when arranging appointments for them to see the Bereavement Midwife, registration and postnatal appointments. · Deal with all enquiries from staff, patients and relatives in a timely and professional manner either in writing, orally or electronically. · Lead the Bereavement team in local and national audits in an attempt to improve the service to bereaved relatives and their families. · Ensure daily checks in the bereavement room including, stocking of equipment and resources, ordering of equipment and resources, stock rotation and replacement. · Lead in projects for improving quality in relation to bereavement · Provide both practical and emotional support to women and their families, giving them opportunity to acknowledge and express their concerns in a safe environment maintaining confidentiality. · Support bereaved families to help them understand clinical information they may have been given. · Lead in the service and other group meetings as required including bereavement steering groups, external and internal agencies. · Deliver an excellent bereavement service by contributing to the working of the team, as required by the needs of the service. · Ensure all women and their families receive empathetic and confidential support as required, both on a face to face basis, through email, telephone and letter contacts, respecting cultural, religious. Be prepared to undertake additional duties as directed by the Matron, to support the team and the wider role of the Bereavement services within Maternity. · Act as an advocate for the women and their families in dealing with trust staff, community health services and support agencies. · Respond to requests for assistance with emotional and psychological support of family members and recognise need to refer for further mental health support. · Be sensitive and have an awareness of differences in religious, cultural and spiritual needs of the families. · On a shift by shift basis, be responsible in prioritising, assessing, planning implementing and evaluating in all relevant aspects of midwifery care to an agreed and expected high standard · Ensure there is effective and sensitive communication between the women, babies and their families and with all the MDT · Act as a resource for colleagues so that expert knowledge in bereavement care is always available · Ensure that patient documentation is appropriate, accountable and defensible in accordance with Trust and NMC policies, disseminating all relevant changes in the patient's condition to the MDT · Be competent in clinical skills to enable delivery of high quality midwifery care/bereavement care · Undertake, perform and assess enhanced skills within the clinical area, to improve the patient experience · Be competent in the correct use of all equipment used in the clinical setting in accordance with instructions, department procedures and NHSLA guidelines, reporting any faults as necessary · Ensure that Child Protection, Vulnerable Adult and Mental Health legislation is adhered to · Promote and collaborate in developing good working relationships with internal and external departments to ensure the patient journey is effective and efficient The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment and promote safeguarding by implementing the Trust's policies and procedures, acting promptly on concerns, communicating effectively and sharing information appropriately. If successful this vacancy will require an enhanced DBS check at a cost of £41.90. This cost will be deducted from your first Trust salary In addition to this it will be a condition of your employment that you will join the DBS update service and pay the annual subscription fee of £13.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust There are lots of good reasons to choose to come and work at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust. A dynamic integrated Trust with integrity and vision. Exactly the same qualities you'll see in yourself. Stockport NHS Foundation Trust aims to be the organisation of choice for patients and an employer of choice for staff. In order to continually improve all aspects of our patient experience, we rely upon having a highly skilled, motivated, diverse, productive and patient focused workforce. Stockport Foundation Trust is one of four 'specialist' hospital sites in Greater Manchester. Being a 'specialist' hospital will enhance our general surgery, anaesthetics, critical care and emergency medicine for the benefit of people in Stockport, High Peak, Cheshire and across Greater Manchester. Our values 'We Care, We Respect, We Listen' are at the heart of everything we do, and come from our promise: 'Making a difference every day.' They drive the behaviour and actions for everyone in our organisation. In your application for this post, please describe how your experience and skills align with 'Our values-based behaviours' ( see additional documentation) and provide examples. Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment As well as recognising previous NHS service, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is a member of the Greater Manchester Continuous Service Commitment. If you are currently employed by Greater Manchester Local Authority, Combined Authority, GMFRS, TfGM as well as other public service organisations, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust will recognise your previous service for sickness and maternity/paternity/adoption entitlement and also for annual leave purposes (providing there has been no break in service). If you currently work for one of the above organisations and successfully apply for a post with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, please ensure the Recruitment team are aware so that this service is reflected in your contract of employment. Our Values: We Care About each other Our patients and their families The communities we serve The environment We support them and deliver on their promises We Respect Each other Our patients and their families Our partners We are kind and helpful, and we expect the same in return We Listen to Each other Our patients and their families Our partners We act and learn from what we hear, We hold a unique position in the Stockport community as the provider of healthcare and we are one of its largest employers. We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve. We are therefore seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce to make it truly representative of our local population., Stockport NHS Foundation Trust is committed to promoting and championing a culture of diversity, fairness and equality for all applicants and employees. Applications are welcomed from all backgrounds and we strive to reflect the community we serve in our diverse workforce. Our "two tick" kite mark guarantees a candidate with a disability, who fulfills the essential criteria, an interview at the Trust. We can make reasonable adjustments, and offer support and advice in a variety of ways on request.

If you require support with your application please contact a member of the recruitment team, who can discuss alternative application methods. We recognise that flexible working is important. We take requests for flexible working seriously, consider any request we receive and try to work with you, so we can explore if your request may fit with the needs of the service. Benefits we offer to you:

• Between 27-33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays
• NHS pension scheme membership
• Salary sacrifice schemes for lease cars, home electronics and more, to make your salary go further
• NHS Staff discounts
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary finance - for loans, savings, budget planning and tips on managing debt
• Stockport Credit Union- for local financial advice