Health Care Professionals
We provide bereaved parents compassionate photographs of their child that they can treasure forever.
When a couple are given the devastating news that their pregnancy is ending in the most unexpected way, the last thing on their mind is professional portraiture. That’s where RMB comes in – we create images that are a gift from us to them.
We believe that every bereaved parent has the right to sensitive and compassionate photographs of their child that they can treasure forever, and be proud to display in their homes and share with others.
RMB has a network of talented and highly trained remembrance photographers throughout the UK who are willing to use their skills, as volunteers, and give up their time to help bereaved families capture a lasting and tangible memory of their baby - at no cost to the parents or the healthcare trust/hospice.
We are happy to photograph baby alone, with parents, siblings and with wider family groups. RMB remembrance photography session times can vary depending on the photographs the parents would like taken. A session can take as little as 20 minutes to carry out but will vary depending on who is present. If we are photographing a baby alone, we do require a member of hospital/hospice staff to be present for the whole session to represent the interests of the parents and to safeguard all parties.
Sensitivity, Security and Understanding
Images are delivered directly to the family between 4-6 weeks after the session has taken place, and are provided digitally on a USB memory stick (which also has a USB-C connector for more recent devices). As such, the family can decide to look at the images straight away or keep them safe until they are ready to do so. We never share images ourselves unless the parents have specifically given us the permission to do this.
Patient data is treated securely by our coordinators and photographers, who will handle the request on your behalf and match with a local photographer. Our volunteers all carry ID cards and we seek references for all new volunteers, so that you can rest assured that our service is professional and secure.
We operate under a Memorandum of Understanding with some hospital trusts, and we are happy to contribute to these if your Trust or Health Board requires one.
As you may appreciate, we cannot guarantee the availability of a photographer; but we do manage to provide a volunteer in 85% of cases. On those rare occasions when we are unable to meet demand, our highly skilled digital retouchers can edit any photos taken by hospital/hospice staff or the family, and to assist you we provide a free guide on getting the best quality images from a smartphone or ward camera.
Photographic memory making features both in the NICE Guidelines and in Standard 9 of the National Bereavement Care Pathway, and RMB’s service fits within the intention of both documents.
Our service starts from losses at 20 weeks gestation. We are unable to provide a service earlier than this simply due to the limitations of our capacity as a voluntary service.
Helping bereaved families capture a lasting and tangible memory of their baby
- at no cost to the parents or the healthcare trust/hospice.
We are always happy to help
Please contact us for more information about the service we provide.
We very much look forward to hearing from you and working with you and your staff for the benefit of bereaved parents in your care.
