The Minister confirmed that he is working with the Department of Health in England in relation to the issue.
Speaking after launching an online petition on the issue Mrs Lockhart said, “A baby loss certificates is a tangible way to formally recognise the incredibly painful loss of a baby. We have seen their introduction in England and I would encourage the Minister locally to prioritise the roll-out of this scheme in Northern Ireland also.
It is not a compulsory system and so it provides the choice for bereaved parents to recognise the loss they have suffered. Campaigners have been pressing for its introduction in both Wales and Northern Ireland. I welcome the Minister’s engagement with colleagues in England and hope that he will progress work on this as a priority.
I have launched a petition and would encourage people to sign that and show their support for the introduction of this scheme to Northern Ireland. It is difficult to envisage that there should be prohibitive costs in either introducing and operating the scheme, but it is obviously important that we can take on board any lessons from its introduction in England. I hope he Minister will take note of the public support for introducing baby loss certificates and I will continue to press for action in this area.”
Note:
The Petition can be found at:
https://www.change.org/p/introduce-baby-loss-certificates-in-northern-ireland