Father calls for bereavement training for hospital staff after loss of baby daughter

A father who says he felt excluded by medical staff when his baby daughter died believes bereavement services need to be improved.

Ian Twitchett, from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, lost his daughter, Pippa, to liver failure five years ago – but says the way it was handled continues to affect him.

Pippa was just four months old when Ian's wife, Hannah, was told just after Christmas that she would not survive.

Ian said: "I'm stood behind a row of nurses, Hannah on the other side, and the consultant came into the room, leant over my wife's shoulder and said, 'we need to make a decision, her treatment isn't working'.

"I didn't even hear that getting mentioned, I was excluded from that.

"That one moment where my wife was delivered the news undid all the hard work, the staff that loves and cared for her, that one moment undid all that."

Hannah gave birth to twins Pippa and Penelope at 30 weeks after a difficult pregnancy.

Ian said: "We had to have a discussion about how difficult it was going to get, and there was a possibility that Pippa wouldn't make it at that point.

"It was a conversation that it might be best for Penny that we terminate Pippa to protect her. Turns out it wasn't going to be possible to do that so we ride it out and hope for the best."

The twins spent nine weeks in hospital before being allowed home.

"I remember when I had them both on my chest and it was like a whole weight was lifted off my shoulder," Ian said. "We just felt that we'd completed it, everything was fine, the girls were healthy, and it was like normal life now, it was the most amazing feeling. It was pure happiness."

But just eight days later, Pippa was was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary after falling ill and, after numerous tests, was diagnosed with liver failure. She died at a children's hospital two days later.

Ian has since raised more than £30,000 for hospices and bereavement charities.

It comes as a report by bereavement charity SANDS – for Baby Loss Awareness Week –revealed only a third of hospitals provided bereavement training for staff who worked with children during working hours.

Lisa Grant, chief nurse at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said staff always aim to meet need of families who have lost a loved one.

She said: "We offer our deepest condolences to Mr and Mrs Twitchett for the loss of their baby. We send our sincere apologies to them for their experience of our bereavement care. We always strive to meet the needs of our bereaved families.

"Following the rollout of the National Bereavement Care Pathway in 2018, our staff receive training in line with the recommendations."

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