Parents report ‘positive feedback’ on bereavement care in Scotland

The National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) in Scotland is led by Sands in collaboration with a number of other charities and professional organisations. It is funded by Scottish Government as part of The Best Start: a five-year plan for maternity and neonatal care. The project provides dedicated, evidence-based care pathways designed for all healthcare professionals and staff involved in the care of women, partners and families at all stages of pregnancy and baby loss.

“The loss of a baby, no matter what stage of pregnancy, is a traumatic event that can have a profound impact on families. Women and families who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss must be provided with the right care and support tailored to their needs,” comments Jennie Minto, Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health.

“The Scottish Government funded Sands to develop and deliver the National Bereavement Care Pathways in all 14 NHS boards, to ensure that families who experience baby loss receive high quality and compassionate care. The evaluation report shows that the pathways are making a real difference to women and families receiving bereavement care and to the health professional caring for those families.”

The evaluation report shows that 89% of parents felt they were communicated with sensitively and 84% agreed the hospital was a caring and supportive environment. However, two key areas that parents said they would like to see improvements in included more consistent bereavement care in hospital, and more continuity of care after leaving hospital.

“Everyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby deserves high quality bereavement care and support. This evaluation of the NBCP in Scotland evidences how, with national implementation and investment such as that from the Scottish Government, we can improve bereavement care,” adds Clea Harmer, Sands’ Chief Executive.

“These results are incredibly encouraging and work continues to embed the NBCP across all NHS boards to improve the quality and consistency of bereavement care provided. We look forward to sharing learnings with other UK nations and continuing to build on the success we’ve seen in Scotland.”

All 14 NHS boards in Scotland are signed up to the NBCP as part of the Scottish Government Best Start Programme. Included in this evaluation were 569 health professionals from the nine NHS boards who signed up in the first two waves of enrolment.

The evaluation found that 82% of health professionals who were aware of changes brought about by the NBCP felt that bereavement care had improved, and 61% agreed that the consistency of bereavement care had improved since its introduction in their board.

The introduction of dedicated staff with responsibility for bereavement care was mentioned by many healthcare staff in the follow-up survey as one of the improvements they’d seen since the NBCP was introduced in their board.

Health professionals noted that continued delivery of the NBCP in areas such as bereavement care training, dedicated staff, better facilities and communication between departments will bring further improvements.

www.sands.org.uk