Local midwife honoured for transforming services for bereaved parents
Posted: 21 June 2023
An exceptional bereavement midwife at West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has received an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours for her services to bereaved parents and the midwives caring for them.
Watford-born Jane Scott, who is the divisional bereavement project lead midwife at West Herts, became a bereavement midwife in 2012, 25 years into her nursing and midwifery career. She noted a huge void in the care for parents after the death of a baby and officially founded the National Bereavement Midwives' Forum (NBMF) when there were only six bereavement midwives in the UK. Eleven years later, thanks to Jane’s dedication, that number has grown to nearly 300.
The NBMF supports bereavement midwives psychologically and clinically in a specialty where the death of a baby is part of their daily working life. The midwives share best practice, helping to standardise care for parents across the UK, and push for improvements in care for families who are going through unimaginable pain. They ensure that care is tailored for all families, particularly those from black and ethnic minority groups.
Jane keeps her campaign at the top of the agenda by representing the NBMF at meetings of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Baby Loss.
Jane is seconded from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, where she received the prestigious Chief Midwifery Officer's Gold Award for developing a renowned maternity bereavement service. She currently works with the West Herts’ bereavement midwifery team to improve and develop services across maternity, the neonatal unit, gynaecology and paediatrics.
Jane said: "I feel very honoured to have received an MBE for my work in supporting bereaved parents. I care very much that the standard of care that all bereaved families receive is the best it can be and that the staff looking after them are well equipped to deliver it.
"I would like to say thank you to everyone who has supported the NBMF and to all of my amazing colleagues across the UK who every day, support the very saddest families of all."
Michelle Hope, acting chief nurse, said: “Congratulations to Jane on receiving her MBE. Her dedication and commitment to bereaved parents is inspiring and we are so proud of her for receiving this accolade.”
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- West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust serves people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. It operates from three hospitals; Watford General, St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead. The trust has a catchment area of over 500,000 people and is one of the largest employers locally, with around 5,000 staff and volunteers.
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