Angie talks to Nicola Welsh, CEO and our two new Hospital to Home Workers, Jenni Morris and Christy Mulvaney about our new pilot project, supporting families alongside NHS Lothian colleagues, as they transition from a hospital to community setting. We spoke about the fact that it is Mental Health Awareness Week and the theme is loneliness, so it felt apt to share more about this project, which will help to address the overwhelming loneliness that families face after their baby has died.

Nicola talked about her own journey as a bereaved mum to Theo and how isolating those early days were and how the project came about from her own experience, as well as listening to other bereaved parents, who did not get support from the start. We spoke about the challenges of how difficult it can be for families to reach out and ask for help and make that first phone call or write that first email and how this project aims to take that burden away, ensuring families are supported from the outset.

Jenni and Christy talked about how they became involved in the charity and what their hopes are for this new project and their collective passion for ensuring there is equity in access to support for all bereaved families. We then discussed about the challenges that there may be getting the project up and running, but also the opportunities that there are to fundamentally change the way that baby loss bereavement care is offered, reaching in, rather than families having to reach out.

We hope that this episode helps share more about our new project and gives a better understanding of how it will fit with the current peer support and specialist counselling services that we offer to families. We also hope that it gives comfort to those listening who may be newly bereaved to know that this service is available or for those who are longer ago bereaved to know that we are continuing to listen to families’ needs and find ways to improve our compassionate care and support.

For more information and support on how Held In Our Hearts can support you or a loved one, please visit https://heldinourhearts.org.uk