Bereavement Team Coordinator and Support Worker (BWH Team) inBirmingham inBirmingham PUBLISHED WED 23 OCT 2024

This is an exciting and rare opportunity for an experienced and compassionate person wishing to spend a year working with a dynamic team aiming to provide the highest standards of bereavement and palliative care to families across the Trust. The team are based in Woodland House, this is an onsite standalone bereavement care facility based at the Birmingham Women's Hospital that provides a non clinical, therapeutic space space for families experiencing pregnancy loss.

The post holder will be the key administrator for the team and service, and also participate in supporting families experiencing pregnancy loss from the earliest stages of pregnancy through to the death of a baby.

The successful applicant will be provided with training opportunities and support to fulfill the role, you need to be able to work under pressure and be flexible to meet the needs of the service. You will be self motivated and well organised, and enjoy working in a small, high profile team. We also want to see what you can bring to the team and the role too.

This role requires a unique combination of administrative efficiency, emotional resilience, and sensitive communication skills as it involves working in a challenging but crucial area of healthcare.

Administration:

The post holder willbe responsible for managing a full range of administrative tasks, coordinating patient appointments, meetings, maintaining records (including patient notes), and handling correspondence. This will involve providing direct support to the Bereavement Team, which requires strong organisational and multitasking skills. A substantial element of the role is the mandatory reporting required after perinatal bereavement, which must meet statutory timelines. Effective and accurate IT skills will be required. Participation in planning, and attendance at events organised by the Trust for bereaved families, including maintaining accurate and up to date invitation lists, working closely with the team to ensure inclusion, and avoiding unwanted correspondence.

Support:

The role involves offering both face-to-face and telephonecontact with families dealing with the pregnancy loss or the death of a baby. This requires a compassionate and empathetic approach and excellent communication skills to navigate sensitive conversations.

This role involves direct care of bereaved families who may wish to spend time with their baby after pregnancy loss or death, which requires profound sensitivity and emotional skill. It is important to be clear about the delicate nature of this responsibility.

The post holder will alsoassist clinical staff in their work with bereaved families, offering administrative support and advice, and support with memory making.

About us

The role of the Birmingham Womens Hospital Bereavement Team Secretary and Support Worker will work under direct supervision of registered practitioners, to provide a compassionate care and support for our bereaved families, and those within the palliative care service at BWCH. The post holder will provide a full range of administrative duties to the bereavement service.

The post is based at Woodland House, Birmingham Womens Hospital, as part of the Trusts Bereavement Team. Woodland House is a dedicated space within the hospital, specifically designed to support bereaved families in a compassionate and respectful environment.

In addition to the responsibilities within Woodland House, the post holder will work across the hospital site, providing support in all clinical areas where bereavement care isrequired. This includes working closely with histopathology to coordinate arrangements involving the care of deceased babies and ensuring the smooth facilitation of viewings and memory-making for families.

At times, there may be a requirement to support across the wider Birmingham Womens and Childrens (BWC) Trust, working wherever needed to ensure that bereaved families across the Trust receive consistent, compassionate care. Weekend and Bank Holiday cover will be required as the service develops.

Please refer to the attached job description and person specification to view the full details for this opportunity at Birmingham Womens and Childrens NHS Foundation Trust.

When completing your application, please ensure you have evidenced how you meet the job description and person specification to include transferable experience, qualifications, skills along with professional registration details (if applicable).

Occasionally we receive a large number of applications for our roles and when that happens we sometimes bring the closing date forward, so please apply promptly to avoid disappointment.