Sands has joined with the Royal College of Midwives to urge the Government to tackle the shortage of staff in maternity services, including bereavement care.
The call comes as a report - on maternity and neonatal staffing - is published today by the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Baby Loss and Maternity as part of their joint Safe Staffing campaign.
The report shows that NHS maternity services are understaffed, overstretched, and too often letting down women, families, and staff alike.
Responses to the APPGs’ call for evidence - from women, families, staff, and organisations - reveal that staffing shortages are severe, pervasive, and having a profound impact on maternity and neonatal services.
Sands is now asking its supporters to join its call on the Government to fix the staffing crisis in maternity services, including in bereavement care.
Poor care for bereaved parents
The APPGs' report is clear that chronic levels of understaffing also means hard-pressed NHS staff don't have enough time to provide good bereavement care for parents who have experienced pregnancy loss or the death of their baby.
"Today’s report paints a worrying picture of NHS staff having to make the choice between supporting a bereaved mother or caring for a mother giving birth to a living baby, often rushing between the two leaving no time for personalised, compassionate bereavement care.
"Too often inexperienced midwives are being left on their own to care for bereaved families and this is simply not good enough.
"Every parent whose baby has died deserves equal and excellent bereavement care. It’s the very least we can do for them. Good quality bereavement care is vital for parents who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy, or whose baby has been stillborn or died in hospital during the first weeks of life."
- Clea Harmer, Chief Executive of Sands
A recent Bereavement Care Audit by Sands found that 12% of trusts and boards across the UK had no bereavement specialist working in the maternity service.
We estimate that each bereavement specialist has just two hours working time to dedicate to each death, covering all aspects of the role, and including supporting families directly.
Solving the staffing crisis
The report makes a number of recommendations in line with the Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee report last year and the Ockenden Review findings.
These include:
- A multi-year, fully funded settlement for maternity and neonatal services.
- The ringfencing of a proportion of the funding settlement for the training and development of maternity and neonatal staff. This should be sufficient to cover the back-filling of posts.
- The establishment of and adherence to nationally agreed minimum staffing levels for maternity and neonatal staff.
- Improving the health and wellbeing of staff, through more flexible working opportunities, a culture that values and respects staff and action to tackle unacceptable behaviours.
“This is a crucial report that highlights the impact staffing shortages on maternity and neonatal care services. Following on from the Ockenden report, this report affirms yet again that investment is needed to ensure maternity and neonatal services are well staffed and supported so that we deliver the care women and families need.
“I give thanks to all the individuals and organisations who have contributed to the call for evidence and look forward to working with the Baby Loss and Maternity Parliamentary Groups to feed these views into Government.”
- Cherilyn Mackrory MP, Co-Chair of the APPG on Baby Loss
Sands offers support and training to midwives, and other healthcare workers, to ensure they have the skills they need to both care for bereaved families, and to look after their own wellbeing.
We are here to support anyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, however recently or longer ago, for as long as they need this.
Please take our e-action today and call on your MP to help fix the crisis in maternity staffing.