Written question WQ97026
- Asked by
- Natasha AsgharConservative
- To be answered by
- Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
- Tabled
- Due
- Answered
- Time to answer
- 1 day
Question
Will the Cabinet Secretary outline what steps the Welsh Government is taking to improve specialist psychological support pathways for bereaved parents who have experienced pregnancy or baby loss in South Wales East?
Answer
Answered by Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
The loss of a baby during pregnancy or shortly after birth is a deeply traumatic experience. Bereavement care has been embedded into national maternity and neonatal policy, ensuring that parents can access the support they need at any time, free of charge, through a compassionate, structured, and well-funded system.
In collaboration with third-sector organisations such as SANDS, the pregnancy and baby loss charity and Child Bereavement UK, psychological and bereavement support is available through NHS Wales. Services include counselling, peer support, and specialist psychological interventions.
The National Framework for Bereavement Care ensures consistent, high-quality support across Wales. Backed by £1.4 million in funding to health boards and third-sector partners, it emphasises early intervention, integration across health and social care, and robust monitoring to ensure equity and quality.
Furthermore, the Maternity and Neonatal Network, part of NHS Wales Performance and Improvement, has been working with SANDS, to support work on the five bereavement pathways. Work has focussed on miscarriage, termination of pregnancy for foetal anomaly, stillbirth, neonatal death and sudden unexpected death in infancy. The pathways are scheduled to be published in the Autumn.