Perinatal Bereavement Support Worker

Ashford & St. Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

The closing date is 14 April 2025

Job summary

Do you want to make a difference to people's lives?

We currently have an exciting opportunity for a highly motivated, reliable, compassionate individual with good organisation skills to join our small team, working with the maternity bereavement service.

Experience working with bereaved families is desirable, however full support and training will be given. We will teach you everything you need to know for this physically & emotionally demanding role. To us, it's more important that you are a team player, caring and a kind person with a genuine desire to help and support women, and their families. If this sounds like you, then you already have the attributes that make a great Bereavement Support Worker.

St Peters is a great place to work, offering a working environment with an inclusive culture that looks after, and values our people, creating a sense of belonging. We encourage applications from people who embrace our values and who will enable us to expand our diverse workforce. The Trust understands that benefits go beyond just financial rewards and offers a wide range of benefits that recognise staff contribution, provide opportunities for career development, and offer initiatives to promote a healthy work-life balance.

Please contact Zara Chamberlain if you wish to have an informal chat on 01932722879 or email zara.chamberlain@nhs.net to find out more.

Apply now to start yourlifelong career at St Peters.

Maternity Support Worker Day 2022 - YouTube

Main duties of the job

We would like you to help support bereaved families on our labour ward, participate in memory making, ensure the bereavement room is well stocked, organise follow up appointments for parents with their consultant, liaise with the mortuary/ pathology services and help collate data for audits. This role is interesting and varied and no two days will ever look the same.

As a Bereavement Support Worker, you don't need any previous bereavement experience, but you will need good literacy (English) and numeracy (maths) skills. We will provide you with all the training that is required to do the job.

It's your personal skills and values that will be most vital to the role;

we need you to be proactive, compassionate, and willing to get stuck in. It's a hands-on environment where teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills are essential.

Maternity Services Support Worker roles represent a world of opportunities within the NHS. They are a great entry point into the NHS and can lead on to a lifelong career.

About us

Ashford and St. Peters Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust serves a population of more than 410,000 people living in North-West Surrey, parts of Hounslow and beyond.

Over 3,700 highly trained doctors, nurses, midwives, therapists, healthcare scientists and other support staff make up our workforce, providing a wide range of services across our two hospital sites, Ashford, Surrey and St Peter's, Chertsey, Surrey.

We also run many specialist clinics in the community and local community hospitals and other healthcare facilities.

Our vision is to be one of the best healthcare Trusts in the country. There has never been a better time to join us in the NHS at ASPH. We are committed to providing continuous professional development, staff benefits and flexibility to shape our workforce around our patient care.

This is an exciting time to join our Trust, as we work on the expansion of our theatres at Ashford Hospital and move towards this becoming our dedicated elective centre. We want to create a state-of-the-art centre for excellence for planned surgical procedures; with care delivered by dedicated, specialist teams in a modern and well-equipped environment.

We hope to use this centre to create an environment of learning and to facilitate training of the next generation of our skilled NHS workforce. Our plans are ambitious - why not, come and be a part of our journey.

Adverts may close early, so applicants are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible.

Date posted

01 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£27,857 to £30,570 a year pa inc. HCAS pro-rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time, Job share

Reference number

323-AC7978-JN

Job locations

St Peters hospital

Chertsey

KT16 0PZ

Job description

Job responsibilities

There are clinical aspects to the role and these include working with bereaved families to create memories as well as preparing specimens for the mortuary/pathognomics. You will also ensure that practical aids are available and the bereavement rooms are well stocked.

Communicating with clients and their families is an important part of this role and you will be the main point of contact for the service. Admin responsibilities include the organisation of all Consultant led perinatal follow up appointments. You will also contribute to audit, reporting and other clinical governance activity being undertaken by the bereavement team.

The role will also support the team to deliver ad-hoc training in the clinical area as well as helping to facilitate the annual Memory Day and Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Please refer to full JD for a detailed breakdown of the role requirements and personal specification.

What St Peters can offer you:

27 days leave plus bank holidays (rising to 29 after five years and 33 after 10 years service) Enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Structured personal development and career progression plan

Generous NHS pension

Great maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Onsite Nursery at an additional cost

Wide range of LGBT+ initiatives and staff networks

Health service discounts and online benefits

Health and wellbeing opportunities onsite gym free to use

Cycle to Work Scheme and discounts on public transport

Job description

Job responsibilities

The role will also support the team to deliver ad-hoc training in the clinical area as well as helping to facilitate the annual Memory Day and Baby Loss Awareness Week.

Please refer to full JD for a detailed breakdown of the role requirements and personal specification.

What St Peters can offer you:

27 days leave plus bank holidays (rising to 29 after five years and 33 after 10 years service) Enhanced pay when you work unsocial hours

Ongoing learning and development opportunities

Structured personal development and career progression plan

Generous NHS pension

Great maternity, paternity and adoption pay

Onsite Nursery at an additional cost

Wide range of LGBT+ initiatives and staff networks

Health service discounts and online benefits

Health and wellbeing opportunities onsite gym free to use

Cycle to Work Scheme and discounts on public transport

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 in Health and Social Care OR an acceptable level 3 Qualification with equivalent experience or relevant experience in this area.

Experience

Essential

Previous/ current experience in a Health or Social Care environment.
Experience of working independently as well as part of a team

Desirable

Previous experience of working in a clinical setting as a maternity support worker or as part of a bereavement team

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

Caring and Compassionate
IT skills
Ability to prioritise appropriately
Excellent time management skills
Team Player
Works under own initiative

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 in Health and Social Care OR an acceptable level 3 Qualification with equivalent experience or relevant experience in this area.

Experience

Essential

Previous/ current experience in a Health or Social Care environment.
Experience of working independently as well as part of a team

Desirable

Previous experience of working in a clinical setting as a maternity support worker or as part of a bereavement team

Knowledge & Skills

Essential

Caring and Compassionate
IT skills
Ability to prioritise appropriately
Excellent time management skills
Team Player
Works under own initiative

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.