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Job summary

Main area
Midwifery
Grade
Band 7
Contract
Permanent: n/a
Hours
  • Full time
  • Flexible working
37.5 hours per week (7 day service)
Job ref
391-RFL-8160432
Employer
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
North Middlesex University Hospital
Town
London
Salary
£55,524 - £62,652 per annum inclusive Outer HCAS
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
28/08/2026 23:59

Employer heading

NHS

Band 7 Bereavement midwife

Band 7

Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community.  This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.

Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.

Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey. Further guidance can be found in the NLPSS Applicant Toolkit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.

Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is committed to fair and transparent recruitment and requires applicants to provide accurate information, as misleading details may affect their application or employment and may be verified in line with the Fraud Act 2006. For further information please visit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.

 

Job overview

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.  

 

Working for our organisation

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 more than 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

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

Experience

Essential criteria
  • 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 criteria
  • 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 criteria
  • 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 criteria
  • Demonstrable ability to meet Trust values

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Nursing TimesApprenticeships logoNo smoking policyPositive about disabled peopleDisability confident employerTimewise PartnerCare Quality Commission - Requires improvementEnei MemberArmed Forces Covenant

Applicant requirements

You must have appropriate UK professional registration.

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Aileen Liddell
Job title
matron
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
0208 887 2485
Additional information

Daniela Petrova 0208 887 2485

If you have problems applying, contact

Address
Service Excellence Team
Telephone
If you have any queries, please contact NLPSS Recruitment Helpdesk tel. 020 3758 2060
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