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Bereavement care

Thirlwall Inquiry · Thirlwall Inquiry Final Report · Issued 15 September 2026 · Addressed to: NHS Trusts

Government responseDepartment of Health and Social Care: Accepted (Sep 2026)

DeliveryDepartment of Health and Social Care says in progress (Sep 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation, Chapter 29

The National Bereavement Care Pathway for neonatal death should be implemented
nationally and in all Trusts by 31 August 2027.

Thirlwall Inquiry, Thirlwall Inquiry Final Report · 15 Sep 2026 Source PDF, page 2 →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, stated in September 2026 that all NHS trusts are signed up to implement the National Bereavement Care Pathway for neonatal death by 2027, with the department confirming that rollout is in progress (Yvette Cooper response, Sep 2026; Department of Health and Social Care, Sep 2026). In a letter published that month, Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHS England Chief Operating Officer, found that integrated care boards and providers should take immediate action to improve care of the bereaved (Duncan Burton; Sarah-Jane Marsh, Sep 2026).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

Government response

●Department of Health and Social Care · Accepted · 15 Sep 2026

Words of: Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, oral statement to the House of Commons, 15 September 2026 (text as published on GOV.UK)

And I agree with the report that, when the very worst happens and parents face bereavement, they need to be supported to the best of our ability. The report recommends the national bereavement care pathway for neonatal death should be rolled out in 2027. I agree and can confirm that all trusts are signed up to implement it - and I will ensure that it is repeated in all versions of the NHS planning framework while I am the Secretary of State.

Extract from: Government response to the Thirlwall Inquiry

Delivery

●Department of Health and Social Care says in progress · 15 Sep 2026

continued rollout of the National Bereavement Care Pathway for families experiencing neonatal loss, with all NHS trusts now signed up to implement it

From: Government to act on Thirlwall patient safety recommendations

Site note: Department of Health and Social Care press release of 15 September 2026. The passage is one item in a list of measures the government says it has begun "while it considers the inquiry's recommendations in full"; the release does not number the recommendations. The recommendation is addressed to NHS trusts; this is the Department's account.

What other bodies have found

In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.

●NHS England · 22 Sep 2026

National Bereavement Care Pathway for stillbirth and neonatal death: ICBs and providers should take immediate action to improve care of the bereaved as has already been set out in the Medium Term Planning Framework (October 2025)

From: Thirlwall Inquiry report and recommendations (letter PRN02660)

Site note: NHS England's letter to NHS trusts and integrated care boards (PRN02660), signed by Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, and Sarah-Jane Marsh, NHS England Chief Operating Officer. The letter bears no date; NHS England published it on 22 September 2026, and it calls the leadership event of 22 September "tomorrow". The passage is under the letter's heading "Actions needed now". The recommendation is addressed to NHS trusts; this is NHS England's instruction to them, not a trust's own account.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.