MSP praises local charity for their compassion towards grieving parents
Jeremy Balfour MSP has marked Baby Loss Awareness Week by paying a visit to SANDS Lothian.
SANDS is a charity that provides compassionate support to families following the death of a baby through specialised bereavement services.
The charity has provided counselling and support meetings for grieving parents for more than 30 years and were responsible for the opening of a Family Room on the ante-natal ward of the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, giving families a space to spend with their stillborn baby.
During the visit Mr Balfour learned about SANDS plans to expand their open-ended specialist baby bereavement counselling across Scotland and of their hope to work with NHS Health Boards to identify families that require specialist psychological counselling.
The Lothian MSP praised the organisation for their compassion in supporting grieving parents.
Following the visit Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP, Jeremy Balfour, said: “From personal experience my wife and I, sadly, know all too well the devastation that losing a child brings to a family.
“During that time what families need most is the support of others, particularly those who know and understand the pain that they are going through.
“It was wonderful to get to visit SANDS Lothian and see the incredible compassion that they have for families that are going through this heartbreak.
“I am very supportive of their plans to expand their services to cover all of Scotland in conjunction with the local NHS Health Boards.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
