Since announcing the suspension of our Cambridge service, Petals has received a number of offers for financial support for which we are truly grateful. These offers have come from many different sources including generous individuals, trusts and companies who have all wanted to help us ensure that bereaved parents have the psychological support they so desperately need and deserve.
We’ve also had encouragement – and supportive action – from several MPs and local councillors, for which we are tremendously grateful.
As a result, we are pleased to announce that from today (3 December) we will be re-instating our Cambridge specialist counselling service, based at the Rosie and Addenbrookes Hospitals. We are relieved that we can finally get back to what we do best: supporting bereaved parents.
However, the funds we have received will not last forever. They do not represent the sustainable funding source that we need to meet the full demands of the service. We will therefore be continuing to work with the CCG, Hospital Trust and other possible funders in the hope that they will be able to partner with us, contribute some funds, and secure the future of the service.
If you would like to show your support for such a contribution, please sign our letter to the CCG at petalscharity.org/camtakeaction
Amazing news so pleased for you all.
This service is not only invaluable to the parents who need it, but also to those working in perinatal bereavement services. Having somewhere to refer parents to in the weeks following their loss is imperative. Petals provide the listening ear required that is away from the environment and the clinicians involved in their care no matter how they perceive their experience to have been, and away from the reminders of what has happened there, giving a safe, neutral space to start to find ways to work through this lifelong journey. Without this kind of support, so many would suffer so much more than they already do and not to fund such services is beyond the realms of understanding to those who work with bereaved parents every day.