Harrogate District Hospital is set to review its staff policies after the NHS announced plans to give paid leave for miscarriages.
This month, officials at NHS England revealed proposals to offer 10 days paid leave to staff who miscarry in the first 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The move comes as part of the organisation’s new pregnancy and baby loss policy.
Angela Wilkinson, director of people and culture at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, said it already offered support to staff, including paid leave, in the event of losing a baby.
However, she added that the trust would review its policies in light of NHS England’s new guidelines to see what further support it could offer.
She said:
“The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is extremely important to us at HDFT. A miscarriage is a traumatic experience and any colleague who sadly loses a child is treated with care and compassion, and offered the support they need at such a difficult time.
“It is important that we give someone who experiences a miscarriage time to grieve and process what has happened. The policies we have in place at HDFT currently do provide specific support and paid time off in the event of baby loss.
“We will review NHS England’s new pregnancy and baby loss policy to assess how we can further strengthen the support we currently offer those colleagues who sadly experience such a tragedy.”
The move to roll out the policy by NHS England comes after it was first introduced by Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust in May 2023.
The trust, which provides health services in Hull and East Yorkshire, said it implemented the policy as a “compassionate move” for its staff.
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