SANDS the UK’s leading pregnancy and baby loss charity, is supporting the National Strategic Clinical Network for Maternity and Neonatal Services to create tailored bereavement care pathways for those who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss in Wales.  

The pathways aim to reduce inequalities and improve the quality of bereavement care provided to parents and families, and has been made possible by funding from the Welsh Government. The pathway materials will include guidance for healthcare professionals based on evidenced best-practice, and a set of standards relating to important aspects of bereavement care.

Good quality bereavement care is vital for parents who have experienced the loss of a pregnancy, or whose baby has died. It includes sensitive communication with parents, providing a bereavement room away from maternity or labour wards, and parents being given informed choices about decisions relating to their care and the care of their babies.
 Clea Harmer, Sands’ Chief Executive, said: “Everyone affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby deserves high quality bereavement care and support. 

“We know that no level of care can remove the grief that many parents will feel after pregnancy loss or the death of a baby, but good care can make this devastating experience feel more manageable. We also know that poor quality or insensitively delivered care can compound and exacerbate pain.

“This launch follows a huge amount of hard work and determination from our partner organisations, the generous support of many bereaved parents and families, and medical professionals who have shared their experiences.

“We hope that through supporting the National Strategic Clinical Network for Maternity and Neonatal Services, we can work together to make sure everyone affected by pregnancy or baby loss gets the care that they need.”

In developing the pathways for Wales, Sands carried out a series of listening events for parents and health professionals during 2024, to understand how bereavement care in Wales can be improved. 

These insights will be incorporated into work with the National Strategic Clinical Network for Maternity and Neonatal Services to introduce pathways to address specific needs after miscarriage, Termination of Pregnancy for Foetal Anomaly (TOPFA), stillbirth, neonatal death or Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI).

Chief Midwifery Officer for Wales, Karen Jewell said: “We are delighted that we have been able to support this important initiative to develop and implement a National Bereavement Care Pathway for Pregnancy and Baby Loss.

“Pregnancy loss or the death of a baby is devastating, and this initiative will help to ensure that every family who suffer from this are appropriately and compassionately supported.

“Our significant investment into bereavement services will improve care and ensure consistency across Wales, the Bereavement Support Grant will continue to support organisations like Sands to extend and deepen bereavement support and fill the gaps that currently exist.”

Healthcare professionals are an important part of the Sands community, and the charity wants to support them to deliver good bereavement care. The pathways will introduce dedicated support for medical staff who care for bereaved families in Wales.

Cara Moore, Lead Midwife from the National Strategic Clinical Network for Maternity and Neonatal Services said: “We are thrilled to be leading the development and implementation of the development and implementation of bereavement care pathways in Wales in collaboration with Sands. The development of pathways will ensure consistent high quality and sensitive bereavement care is offered to all bereaved parents in Wales. This will be supported through training, interdisciplinary collaboration and continuous monitoring and promises a sustained improvement in the experiences of bereaved parents.

“We are also pleased that the implementation of the pathways align with and supports long term plans for the delivery of high quality maternity and neonatal care in Wales.”

Marc Harder, Head of Bereavement Care & Hospital Liaison at Sands, said: “Earlier this year, bereaved parents and families in Wales generously shared their stories of pregnancy and baby loss with us during a series of listening events. Key themes that arose included gaps in compassionate care, inappropriate and insensitive medical terminology, care outside of the hospital and inconsistency in bereavement care provision.

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the National Strategic Clinical Network for Maternity and Neonatal Services to develop bereavement care pathways that will begin to address these concerns and lead to higher quality care at such a difficult time for parents and families. We will continue to work with parents, professionals and other stakeholders to ensure an evidence-based and community-led approach to the development of Wales-specific pathways.”

More information about the bereavement care pathways in Wales
The project in Wales is led by Sands in collaboration with a number of other charities and professional organisations, and funded by the Welsh Government. The project provides dedicated, evidence-based care pathways designed for all healthcare professionals and staff involved in the care of women, birthing people, partners and families at all stages of pregnancy and baby loss.

Five experiences of pregnancy or baby loss are included in the pathway project including miscarriage, TOPFA, stillbirth, neonatal death and SUDI.

Sands is here to support all bereaved families in Wales and across the UK. The charity provides support through its Freephone helpline, online community and resources, and through a network of regional support groups run by trained befrienders, all offering in-person peer support. 
 Find out more about all the ways the charity offers bereavement support.  

THIS WEEK (Sept 18) the doctors who formerly were known as “junior” doctors mark their official transition to the title “resident” doctors. The BMA, the representative body for doctors in the UK, from today will refer to this cohort of doctors as resident doctors and leave the former misleading title behind.

Resident doctors are fully qualified doctors who are either currently in postgraduate training or gaining experience as locally employed doctors, to become the consultants, GPs or specialists of tomorrow. They form the largest single group in the UK’s medical workforce, with many having more than a decade of experience as highly qualified professionals. After many years of calls for the term “junior” to be retired as both misleading and demeaning to the skills of doctors, the BMA voted in 2023 to move to a new term.

In February 2024 a BMA survey showed the change to “resident” was supported by 91% of junior/resident doctors. From Wednesday, the word “junior” will be replaced by “resident” in all BMA and Government communications, with the NHS, media and healthcare institutions all encouraged to follow suit. “Resident doctor” also brings the UK closer to international terminology, the title being used in the US, Canada, Spain, Australia and many others.

The Welsh Resident Doctors Committee (WRDC) co-chairs Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey said: “This change is a positive step forward for both doctors in Wales, who will now feel acknowledged for their extensive skills and years of experience, and for patients, who can rest assured that there is nothing ‘junior’ about the doctor looking after them”

CONCERNS over ambulance services in Pembrokeshire have escalated, with local politician Paul Davies MS raising critical questions in the Senedd today, demanding urgent reassurances from the Welsh Government. The issue comes in the wake of several distressing incidents, including the recent death of a man after a nine-hour wait for an ambulance in Pembroke Dock.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Mr Davies expressed his alarm following numerous complaints from local residents. He said: “I’ve called for a statement from the Welsh Government on the delivery of ambulance services, following local concerns that I’ve received. Reassurances must be given that beds will not be removed from Withybush Hospital, as the removal of beds will only add further strain to the system. Support is also needed as a matter of urgency, as staff feel that they’re facing more and more paperwork and targets.”

The Conservative Senedd Member also highlighted that ambulance staff are increasingly struggling under heavy pressure, with added paperwork and challenging targets contributing to low morale. He raised the matter in the Senedd chamber, calling on the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to make an urgent statement.

Addressing the Trefnydd, Mr Davies said: “Ambulance staff have raised concerns with me about services in Pembrokeshire, and I was alarmed to hear that 30 beds are to be removed from Withybush Hospital and Glangwili Hospital in due course. I was also alarmed to hear that ambulances despatched to Pembrokeshire are no longer ring-fenced to return, and the priority is to clear the backlog at Glangwili Hospital before any backlogs at Withybush Hospital.”

He further noted that staff are now facing a target of 15 minutes to complete a patient handover at A&E and another 15 minutes to restock and clean the ambulance, which is putting significant strain on already overstretched emergency workers. According to Mr Davies, morale among ambulance staff is at an all-time low, with many refusing to work overtime, particularly at night, due to concerns over spending extended hours waiting to discharge patients at hospitals.

“These are serious issues affecting both patient care and staff wellbeing,” he said. “Staff are telling me they are under more pressure than ever, with unnecessary paperwork and a target-driven approach that’s draining morale. It’s clear that we need a statement from the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to address these concerns urgently.”

The demand for action follows a number of recent tragedies in the area linked to delayed ambulance response times. The case of David Bye, who died after a nine-hour wait for an ambulance in Pembroke Dock, has shocked local residents, who are now vocal in their demands for improved healthcare services across Pembrokeshire. Mr Bye’s death, along with other similar incidents, has intensified the public outcry for improvements to the region’s emergency response system.

The Welsh Ambulance Service has cited broader system-wide pressures, including long delays in transferring patients into hospitals, as a key cause of slow ambulance response times. However, residents and staff alike have expressed fears that removing beds from hospitals like Withybush will only exacerbate the problem.

Mr Davies has warned that without immediate intervention, the already stretched healthcare system in Pembrokeshire could deteriorate further, with severe consequences for patients and medical staff alike.

In his closing remarks in the Senedd, Mr Davies reiterated the urgency of the situation: “In light of the seriousness of the concerns raised, I believe that we need a statement now from the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to address some of these concerns as soon as possible.”

The Pembrokeshire community will be watching closely to see if the Welsh Government responds with decisive action to ensure that local ambulance services and hospitals are properly supported, and that no more lives are lost due to delays in care.