Job summary
Specialist Bereavement Midwife - 22.5 hours. The post holder will be a practising midwife who will work alongside the lead bereavement midwife and work as a member of the team within the maternity service to provide individualised care to bereaved birthing people and their families. The post holder will support the lead bereavement midwife in providing care and advice to birthing people and their families who have experienced bereavement due to miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy for fetal abnormality or neonatal death. The post holder will contribute to providing midwifery care in the Rainbow clinic working alongside the Rainbow clinic lead midwife and consultants. The post holder will support the training of health care professionals in bereavement care in the absence of the lead bereavement midwife. The post holder will provide clinical knowledge within the maternity services for the bereaved and their families and will play an integral part in care delivery. To contribute to the development and review of guidelines in relation to medical termination of pregnancy, late miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death to achieve best practice alongside the lead bereavement midwife. To support the lead bereavement midwife in ensuring that the bereavement service is developed in partnership with service users and stakeholders and that it meets national guidance through the audit cycle

Main duties of the job

• To actively contribute to the assessment of care needs and the development, implementation and evaluation of programmes of care to birthing people and their babies throughout pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. Work collaboratively supporting the bereavement activities of the maternity team, in particular oversight of bereavement related patient contacts, gaining the required consents for funeral direction and having oversight of funeral arrangements for each family
• Generate, submit and present reports of cases and be actively involved in audits of their service in the absence of the lead bereavement midwife
• Assist patients during their stay on the ward, with memory making, spending time with their baby, emotional support
• Deliver Antenatal care to birthing people in a subsequent pregnancy to include, antenatal care and working alongside the lead midwife and consultant within Rainbow clinic
• Contribute to local and national audits in an attempt to improve the service to bereaved relatives and their families
• Support projects for improving quality in relation to bereavement.
• Support bereaved families to help them understand clinical information they may have been given
• Deliver an excellent bereavement service by contributing to the working of the team, as required by the needs of the service
• Act as a resource for colleagues so that expert knowledge in bereavement care is always available
• Be competent in clinical skills to enable delivery of high-quality midwifery care

About us
We hold a unique position in the Stockport community as the provider of healthcare and we are one of its largest employers. Our mission is to make a difference every day. Our values are that we care, we respect, and we listen. We believe that the best organisations are those that reflect the communities they serve. We are therefore seeking to improve the diversity of our workforce to make it truly representative of our local population. We actively encourage applications irrespective of race, age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marriage & civil partnership, or pregnancy or maternity. Recognising those communities that are underrepresented within our workforce, we would particularly welcome applications from you. We recognise that flexible working is important. We take requests for flexible working seriously, consider any request we receive and try to work with you, so we can explore if your request may fit with the needs of the service. The salary for the role is only one part of the excellent package of benefits we offer to you: Between 27-33 days of annual leave plus bank holidays, NHS pension scheme membership, Salary sacrifice schemes for lease cars, home electronics and more, to make your salary go further, NHS Staff discounts, Cycle to work scheme, Salary finance - for loans, savings, budget planning and tips on managing debt, Stockport Credit Union- for local financial advice

Person Specification
Education and Qualifications
Essential

• Registered midwife on NMC register
• Post-registration qualification or evidence of further study to Degree level
• Evidence of continuing personal and professional development
• Demonstrates clear insight, with an increased awareness about the impact of perinatal and maternal loss on families.
• Knowledge of factors influencing perinatal/maternal mortality

Desirable

• Diploma in counselling

Knowledge and Experience
Essential

• Midwife with experience of bereavement care
• Bereavement/ counselling experience and training. Willing to undergo training as necessary to undertake role

Desirable

• Awareness of MMBRACE, PMRT & Child Death reviews
• Involvement in the implementation of service improvements

Skills and abilities
Essential

• Ability to work using own initiative and as part of a MDT
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Logical approach to problem solving
• Ability to relate to groups and individuals at all levels
• Able to offer encouragement and support to others to foster both personal and professional development

Desirable

• Effective written communication skills including analysis and presentation of reports
• Able to give effective oral presentations when expressing ideas to groups or individuals
• Ability to analyse complex issues and make decisions
• Leadership and organisational skills
• Negotiating / influencing skills

Work related Circumstances
Essential

• Able to respond to the needs of the service, e.g. ad-hoc early / late meetings
• Commitment to the provision and development of high quality bereavement care

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship
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. 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.

UK Registration
Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website.