Sands Freephone Helpline has been recognised and awarded with an accreditation by the Helplines Partnership (HLP).

The HLP is the membership body for organisations who provide helpline services via phone and other communications methods in the UK and internationally.

Sands Helpline operates within the industry standard and shows a duty of care to bereaved parents and their families, and to the staff who operate the service.

Funded from core organisational resources, Sands’ Helpline planning is strongly focused on meeting the needs of callers and is regularly reviewed and developed to respond to emerging needs.

The HLP also highlighted that:

• Our Helpline was found to be clearly at the heart of the services we provide
• Our Helpline offers a recognised standard of care and professionalism
• Our Helpline workers are highly experienced in their role and are able to provide appropriate advice 

Patrick Wilcockson, our helpline coordinator and lead, has been working on our Helpline for the past 20 years.  Click here to read Patrick’s story

Jen Coates, our Director of Volunteering & Bereavement Support, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded accreditation from the Helplines Partnership, as it confirms that we operate to a high standard in our work to support bereaved parents and their families.

“We always reflect on how we deliver our service as a team, so this award validates the assistance and help we provide and shows that we operate within a standard of practice that bereaved parents can trust.  

“The process to gain accreditation has been illuminating and we have learnt enormously from it about ourselves, which includes where we are excelling and also where we could improve.”

The final hurdle to achieve accreditation involved a visit and an inspection from the HLP, so they could ask questions, view our set up and interview our Helpline staff.  

The HLP said our commitment to delivering an effective high quality helpline service was strongly evident. As a result, they were pleased to award us with a quality mark accreditation for the next three years.

Sands' Helpline offers support to anyone affected by the death of a baby whether recently bereaved or long ago bereaved. Call our Freephone Helpline on 0808 164 3332 or email: helpline@sands.org.uk 

To find out more about Sands and how we offer support, click here