Pioneering miscarriage care on the agenda for Ministerial visit
Care for families experiencing pregnancy and baby loss was on the agenda when we welcomed Baroness Merron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Patient Safety,
Women’s Health and Mental Health, to our Women’s Hospital last week (Friday 18 October).
Baroness Merron was in Birmingham to hear more about the pioneering research into miscarriage which is taking place at our Women’s Hospital as part of the Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research.
Currently in the UK, families generally have to wait until they’ve experienced three miscarriages before they qualify for specialist care and support. Clinicians at our hospital are piloting a new system known as the Graded Model of Care, where care and support is offered after every miscarriage, with testing and investigations increasing with each loss.
Baroness Merron took a tour of our Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit (EPAU) as well as meeting families who have been cared for by our teams.
Professor Arri Coomarasamy OBE, Consultant Gynaecologist at our Women’s Hospital and Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, said: “It is vital for us to use research to advocate for evidence-based changes to care, so we were very grateful to meet with the Minister.
“We estimate that women suffer some 250,000 miscarriages in the UK each year: the heartbreaking burden and cost of this to families and society is unacceptable. The Graded Model provides a rational, caring and pragmatic approach that may prevent further pregnancy losses and help ensure no one is left behind in miscarriage care.”
Our Trust has led the way in recent times, announcing a new pregnancy and baby loss policy in 2021 detailing support, including periods of paid leave, for families who are suffering from baby loss or who have had a premature birth. This policy was rolled out nationally in the NHS earlier this year.
We also opened a new, dedicated pregnancy and baby loss centre – Woodland House – this year at our Women’s Hospital. A first of its kind in a UK hospital setting, the charitably-funded centre will be a safe haven for families experiencing the heartbreak of loss, allowing families to grieve in private, away from the busy main hospital.
Raffaela Goodby, Chief People Officer at BWC, said: “Miscarriage and pregnancy loss is still a taboo subject in many communities, so it is vital we continue to tackle the stigma and raise awareness of the research and support available. This is also why our Trust launched a paid miscarriage leave policy in 2021, which we are so delighted was rolled out to the whole NHS in March of this year.
“Our Trust, working alongside partners like Tommy’s, wants to support families with love and compassion, to ensure that they know there is always someone by their side when they need it most, and especially as we have just marked Baby Loss Awareness Week.
“We were delighted to welcome Baroness Merron to our Women’s Hospital so that she could see for herself the determination and energy we have to support the families we support and cherish following miscarriage or baby loss.”