Bereaved parents at Staffordshire Children's Hospital at Royal Stoke making memories thanks to UHNM Charity

Meet Bekki and Amy, two nurses helping bereaved parents at SCH make memories thanks to UHNM Charity funding.

Bekki Bache, a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Sudden Unexpected Death in Infants, and Amy Smith, Clinical Nurse Specialist for Paediatric Palliative Care, are now able to offer any family who wants one, a bespoke charm featuring the foot, hand, or fingerprint of their child.

Thanks to UHNM Charity’s supporters, families with children up until the age of 18 years will also be offered special bereavement books to help siblings better understand loss, journals, and hand moulds.

Family members such as grandparents and aunts and uncles will also be able to receive special comfort bags containing items such as teddy bears and handprints.

Funding from UHNM Charity has also allowed the hospital’s antenatal wards to create special ‘heartbeat bears’, made using recordings of the child’s heartbeat.

Bekki, who has been in her role for two years said: “Prior to UHNM Charity funding, the Children’s Hospital were providing memory making boxes containing locks of hair and hand prints, but families were having to pay for any extras, which was both upsetting and expensive. Amy and I decided we needed to develop this, so approached UHNM Charity.

“We’ve really tried to think of the most suitable items for parents and families. Feedback has been amazing and families are so thankful. It’s something that helps with the grieving process, and can bring them close to their child even in ten years’ time.”

UHNM Charity support has also enabled Bekki and Amy to purchase multi-faith items, improve the packaging, and buy sympathy cards, allowing the team to write to families on birthdays.

Amy added: “We wouldn’t be able to offer this service without UHNM Charity. We want families to know we’re thinking of them, even if they’re not able to open the items straight away.”