Changes needed to improve bereavement care

14 February 2017

On 6 February 2017, professionals from across the UK attended a conference on neonatal, palliative and end of life care.

The sold-out conference, organised by Child Bereavement UK, was attended by delegates who travelled from far and wide to listen to specialist speakers, from those with hands-on experience in Neonatal units and hospices to experts in Paediatric pathology.

The conference was opened by Ann Chalmers, Chief Executive of Child Bereavement UK. She spoke about Child Bereavement UK’s ambition to strengthen and build capacity in the child bereavement sector, and the growing recognition within the healthcare sector of the need to ensure that professionals who work with bereaved families are given appropriate training.

Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury, was one of the many inspiring speakers at the event as she shared her personal experience of the death of her baby in 2009. In November 2015, Antoinette addressed the House of Commons about the impact her son’s death had had on her. Since giving that speech, Antoinette has been working tirelessly to raise awareness of the inconsistency in bereavement support in hospitals across the UK. She is looking forward to working alongside other MPs to bring about change and to improve the standards of bereavement services and care nationwide.

Antoinette said:

It was great to see Child Bereavement UK running this important education event for health professionals and senior clinicians.It was a great honour to talk about the work of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Baby Loss and highlight the changes needed to improve bereavement care for those who have suffered the loss of a child.

One delegate said of the conference:

Child Bereavement UK conferences can always be relied on for excellence. Amazing that you can spend a whole day discussing neonatal death and feel better! To be with others who care as passionately as myself is wonderful.

The conference was hosted by sponsor Fieldfisher LLP at their offices in London.

For more information, visit: www.childbereavementuk.org or call: 0800 02 888 40

ENDS

Notes for Editors

Child Bereavement UK supports families and educates professionals when a baby or child of any age dies or is dying, or when a child is facing bereavement. Every year we train more than 8,000 professionals, helping them to better understand and meet the needs of bereaved families.

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