The policy encourages NHS Trusts to offer staff up to 10 days’ paid leave for a mother who has experienced baby loss in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
As well as 10 days of paid leave, NHS staff members will be able to take further paid time off for medical examinations or to receive mental health support following a miscarriage.
The partners of women who have miscarriages will also be able to take up to five days of paid leave if they work for the NHS.
President of the PDA NAWP Network, Ayah Abbass said, “I am happy to see that there is finally a policy in place to help provide support for women who have gone through baby loss. We have published an article to raise awareness of how this journey can be extremely difficult for pharmacists in the workplace and women in general. It’s good to see a framework in place to help employers know how they can support their employees going through this difficult time. I’m also happy to see that their partners are getting support as well. I’m glad to see a paid leave is finally in place. This gives me hope that we are going in the right direction.”
Dr Navina Evans, NHS Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer said, “We know the significance of getting support right in the very first instance for our staff, which is why for the first time in the healthcare sector we are providing paid leave so parents can take time out to process this traumatic experience as well as paid time to attend appointments.”
The PDA supports this new policy and believes that all parents who experience pregnancy or baby loss deserve compassion from their employers and the right to grieve. It is the PDA’s hope that more employers will adopt similar policies, in the pharmacy sector and all other industries.
The NHS ‘National Pregnancy and Baby Loss People Policy Framework’ can be accessed here.
Access support
One in four pregnancies in the UK end in miscarriage, meaning that hundreds of thousands of women miscarry every year. There are a range of support resources available to people who have experienced baby loss.
- Downloadable miscarriage leaflets
- Saying Goodbye – support for miscarriage and baby and infant loss
- Supporting someone who has had a miscarriage
- Counselling for pharmacists
- Baby Loss certificate
- Memorial book of pregnancy and baby loss prior to 24 weeks (Scotland)
Learn More
Get involved
- Follow the PDA NAWP Network on social media using the hashtag #PDAnawp.
- For more information about the PDA NAWP Network, click here.
- If you would like to get involved with the network and its activities, please email: nawp@the-pda.org.
Not yet a PDA member?
If you have not yet joined the PDA, we encourage you to join today and ask your colleagues to do the same.
Membership is FREE to pharmacy students, trainee pharmacists and for the first three months of being newly qualified.
Read about our key member benefits here.