A second bereavement suite has been added to Royal Preston Hospital’s delivery area with the help of funding from mums and babies charity Baby Beat.
Featuring a pull down bed, en suite bathroom, kettle, and wall art, the space was created ahead of Baby Loss Awareness Week which runs from 9-15 October.
Lead bereavement midwife Claire Braithwaite who, together with her colleagues, looks after families following the loss of their babies, said: “Sadly, with just one bereavement suite, on occasion we were unable to provide the space for all who needed it.
Read more: Royal Preston Hospital shop helps secure future projects at Baby Beat charity
“This second suite should now enable us to look after all our bereaved families in a room especially designed to support them and the care we are able to give them, which can make a big difference to how they process and cope with the grief, stress, and trauma of what they have experienced.”
Grants received from Warburtons, Harold and Alice Bridge Charity, UKH Foundation, Ardonagh insurance broker, and D&G builders, contributed to the total cost of £17,744.99 for the transformed space.
A Preston couple who lost their daughter earlier this year spoke about their experiences in the original bereavement suite space.
Angela Rotherham and Ant Potts lost their daughter, Sophia Grace, in June.
She said: “We were just in shock. We didn’t expect what happened to happen. The room enabled us to spend five days with Sophia, making memories. Having the double bed was comforting.
“There were no restrictions on visitors and we were able to introduce Sophia to our families, so being able to offer them a comfy chair, drinks, and a snack was good.”
When not being used by a bereaved family, the suite also has in-built features that enable it to double as a complex care room for women who need high dependency care and whose babies have had to be unexpectedly taken into the Sharoe Green’s Neonatal Intensive Care.
Joanna Allitt, fundraising manager for Baby Beat, said: “It is vitally important that all parents suffering baby loss receive exactly the same high level of care, and that includes being able to be looked after together with their baby and their families in a room designed to support them.
“We are extremely grateful to our grant funders and our supporters, who have enabled us to now achieve our goal.”
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