Job summary
The Bereavement Specialist Midwife will work in the team of Bereavement Midwives; they will work together to lead on the provision of support for families who have experienced bereavement within maternity services. They will work within the multidisciplinary team to provide clinical support and advice to any staff member who will be providing care to bereaved families in any maternity department including stillbirths, miscarriage, medical termination and neonatal deaths.

Main duties of the job
This is a clinically based role, the postholder will be expected to be a point of information and expertise, providing guidance on any issues relating to pregnancy loss or bereavement and will need to have oversight of all related processes and procedures. Day to day, the Bereavement Midwives will support women and families postnatally, offer expert information regarding postmortem investigations and complete postmortem consent, Coronial reviews, registration and funerals.

Additionally, they will work within the pregnancy after loss antenatal continuity of care model, offering antenatal case loading for subsequent pregnancies to provide excellent, individualised care.

They will also be responsible for reviewing and updating guidelines, management of data collection, auditing and accurate completion of paperwork and correct processing of specimens.

They will comply with the requirements of the Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the (MBRRACE-UK) and will be responsible for coordinating/implementing the core principles of the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP). The Bereavement Midwives are responsible for education, bereavement updates and incorporating learning in annual midwifery updates.

The postholder will be involved in providing a 7-day bereavement service as per Ockenden recommendations and will be expected to work flexibly including weekends.

About us
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out over 17million tests.

Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top

For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk

Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description document which will provide a more detailed description of role and main responsibilities.

Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential

• NMC Registered Midwife
• Educated to Degree Level
• Evidence of continuous personal, professional and academic development
• Post registration teaching qualification (e.g. 998 or mentorship course), Practice Assessor

Desirable

• Relevant specialist qualification or training to diploma level or equivalent experience
• Study at Post Graduate level or willingness to undertake
• Leadership or management qualification
• Counselling qualification or willingness to work towards

Knowledge and Skills
Essential

• Experience of caring for bereaved families.
• Good knowledge of National Bereavement Care Pathways.
• Demonstrate leadership skills, knowledge and experience in order to enhance effective care across all settings where the loss of a baby may be experienced.
• Good communication skills.
• A proven ability to deal effectively with patients, their families and the general public.
• Ability to work in a pressured environment and balance competing priorities of services and staff.
• Able to prioritise own workload, delegate appropriately and manage time effectively.
• Good IT skills.
• Excellent presentation and report writing skills.
• Working knowledge of issues currently impacting on Maternity services.
• Able to lead, facilitate and motivate a wide range of teams to achieve results.
• Can demonstrate and provide patient-centred and safe care.

Desirable

• A sound knowledge of the legal framework in relation to miscarriages, termination of pregnancy, stillbirth and neonatal death.

Experience
Essential

• Significant midwifery experience at band 6 or above
• Experience of working with a range of professionals across differing organisations.
• Experience of caring for bereaved families.

Desirable

• Experience of organising remembrance events.
• Teaching experience.
• Able to lead, facilitate and motivate teams to achieve results.
• Experience of providing practical assistance with legal/organisational issues surrounding bereavement

Personal Qualities
Essential

• Excellent inter-personal and communication skills
• High level of work organisation, self-motivation, drive for performance and improvement, and flexibility in approach and attitude.
• Strong sense of commitment to openness, honesty and integrity in undertaking the role.
• Flexible approach to the needs of the service
• Willingness to adapt to a changing environment.
• Compassionate, kind and approachable.
• Proactive.
• Ability to cope in stressful situations.
• Consistent manner and approach.
• Acts collaboratively.

Values
Essential

• Demonstrable ability to meet Trust values

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.

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).