Tommy’s Rainbow Clinic in Manchester has been honoured with a top award for its work with families experiencing pregnancy after loss.
The clinic, led by Professor Alex Heazell, was named Maternity and Midwifery Services Initiative of the Year at the 2024 HSJ Patient Safety Awards.
Since its creation as the UK’s first Rainbow Clinic in 2013 at St Mary’s Hospital in Manchester, similar services have been rolled out across 30 maternity units in the UK and 3 in the US.
The awards judges said:
“The Rainbow Clinic model of care provides multidisciplinary care for families in pregnancy after loss to mitigate the risks of increased pregnancy complications and psychological distress.
“Through conducting a range of research studies based in the service, the Rainbow Clinic has pioneered a model of care which has reduced premature births and subsequent stillbirths in this high-risk population as well as improving patient experience for mothers and partners, even through the pandemic.”
Emilie Bailey, one of the midwives at the Manchester Rainbow Clinic, said:
“We’re thrilled to have won Maternity and Midwifery Service Initiative of the Year for our Rainbow Clinic at St Mary’s.
“This service is a vital lifeline for families who have experienced the heartbreak of stillbirth, neonatal death or TMFR [termination for medical reasons], and we know how it important it is that they get the right support in their future pregnancies.”
Fellow Rainbow Clinic midwife Emma Tomlinson said:
“There are now 30 Rainbow Clinics across the UK that follow our model of care, showing just how needed these types of services are. We hope that this recognition inspires other trusts to set up their own Rainbow Clinic so more families can have equitable access to specialist support.”
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Professor Heazell said he was ‘hugely proud’ to have won the award and thanked the ‘amazing team’ in the clinic.
Kath Abrahams, Chief Executive of Tommy’s, said:
“We're delighted that Tommy’s Rainbow Clinic in Manchester has been recognised in this way.
“The team there is changing and saving lives every day, bringing hope to women and birthing people and their families after loss and helping them to bring home a healthy baby.
“We’re immensely grateful to them, and to all of our supporters whose generosity and determination have enabled us to fund the clinic and drive forward research that will keep making pregnancy and birth safer for everyone.”
