Lead Bereavement Midwife

Integrated Care System; Knowsley; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 53,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization is seeking a Lead Bereavement Midwife to provide specialized support to bereaved families. The successful candidate will coordinate a compassionate service, educate staff, and liaise with specialists to ensure comprehensive care following pregnancy loss. Applicants should be registered midwives with relevant qualifications and experience in handling bereavement situations.

Qualifications

• Evidence of recent professional development relevant to bereavement care.
• Clinical experience as a practising Midwife / Nurse required.

Responsibilities

• Lead a specialised service for women and families after the loss of their baby.
• Provide specialised advice and maintain knowledge of legal requirements around pregnancy loss.
• Participate in the annual Baby Remembrance Service and coordinate debrief appointments.

Skills

Verbal communication

Organisational skills

Interpersonal skills

Presentation and teaching skills

Excellent one to one communication skills

Ability to prioritise work efficiently

Ability to take initiative and work flexibly

Education

Registered Midwife / Nurse

Teaching qualification

Counselling qualification

ECDL

Job description

Go back Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Lead Bereavement Midwife

The closing date is 14 July 2025

The Maternity Service has an excellent opportunity for a Registered Midwife to join the established Bereavement Midwifery Team for a fixed term period until 31 March 2026.

The Bereavement Midwifery team provides care for bereaved parents facing complex issues due to miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormalities or neonatal death. They also support parents in future pregnancies, working with the Lead consultant within the newly established Rainbow Clinic.

The successful candidate will be able to give high quality emotional and practical support to parents with empathy. As a member of the multi-disciplinary team the post holder will liaise with all relevant agencies to ensure a seamless service for women requiring bereavement advice and care. The post holder will role model, inspire, motivate and empower patients, relatives, carers, staff, and partner agencies.

Main duties of the job

Lead a specialised coordinated, efficient and empathic service for women and their families following the loss of their baby or non-viable fetus.

Responsible for specialised advice regarding investigations and results, liaising with specialist services.

Work with the Lead Consultant for Rainbow Clinic to provide care for families in their future pregnancies following a loss.

Co-ordinate and participate in debrief appointments with lead consultants.

Maintain a knowledge of the legal requirements around pregnancy loss and ensure these are fulfilled.

Provide educational resources for the multi-disciplinary team on all aspects of bereavement care.

Professional lead for HTA compliance.

Work alongside other specialist midwives in the provision of complex and sensitive information when breaking bad news to families.

Co-ordinate and participate in the annual Baby Remembrance Service, and Baby loss Awareness week events.

Lead on implementation of national and regional bereavement and stillbirth pathways and guidance. Attend Cheshire and Merseyside meetings.

Core member of the Perinatal Mortality Review Group, supporting investigation, review and publication of reports. Participating in the process of notifying losses to MBRRACE.

About us

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves a population of over 600,000 with a workforce of over 9000 dedicated and skilled staff across 21 sites.

We strongly believe that the communities we serve should all have access to Five Star Patient Care.

Our services:

Acute Care

Providing emergency and maternity services at Whiston, Southport and Ormskirk hospitals, and medical and surgical specialties across all our sites.

Primary Care

Providing primary care services at Marshalls Cross Medical Centre situated in St Helens Hospital.

Community Services

Providing adult community services for St Helens and a wheelchair service in Chorley, South Ribble, and West Lancashire. Our inpatient unit at Newton Community Hospital is where patients needing acute hospital beds can continue rehabilitation, freeing up space for more unwell patients. We also provide urgent care at our Urgent Treatment Centre located in St Helens town centre.

Specialist Regional Services

We provide the Mersey Regional Burns & Plastic Surgery Unit at Whiston Hospital and the Spinal Injuries Unit at Southport Hospital to more than 4 million people across the whole of Merseyside, West Lancashire, Cheshire, Isle of Man and North Wales.

Achievements:

• Rated Outstanding by CQC Inspection August 2018
• Top 100 places to work in the NHS (NHS Employers & Health Service Journal)
• National Preceptorship Accreditation (2023) for Nursing & AHP Preceptorship Programme

Job responsibilities

Please ensure you have read through the attached Job Description and Person Specification before submitting your application.

Advertising date:4th July 2025

Closing date: 14th July 2025 (8am)

Shortlisting date: 15th July 2025

Proposed Interview date: 24th July 2025 (TBC)

Please note, this post may close earlier than advertised if a sufficient number of applications are received.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Registered Midwife / Nurse
• Evidence of recent professional development or interest (relevant to this area of practice)
• Teaching qualification
• Counselling qualification
• ECDL

Knowledge

• An understanding of the changing environment of the National Health Service
• Research and audit processes
• Understanding of the issues relating to bereavement
• Clinical experience as a practising Midwife / Nurse
• Teaching students
• Experience of multi-agency and partnership working

Skills

• Verbal communication
• Presentation and teaching skills
• Organisational skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Excellent one to one communication skills
• Ability to prioritise work efficiently and meet deadlines
• Ability to take initiative and work flexibly
• Experience of using maternity IT system

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

£46,148 to £52,809 a yearper annum, pro rata