A BEREAVEMENT suite inspired by a mother who lost her baby has opened in Romford to help parents who have to go through the tragedy of losing a child.
The Snowdrop Suite at Queen's Hospital, in Rom Valley Way, was funded by the King George and Queen's Hospitals Charity and Havering Sands, the Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society.
The two charities worked together to set up the room, which is on the hospital's labour ward.
The facility is equipped with features that aim to ease the situation for parents and families at a difficult time.
The project began in 2006 after Sian Haywood from Cranham lost her son Max and asked for donations instead of flowers at his funeral.
With the help of Mandy Hunt, the chairman of Havering Sands, Mrs Haywood, 36, worked with King George and Queen's Hospitals Charity to ensure that future families were made as comfortable as possible after losing a child.
Ms Hunt said: "There's always been a need for such a suite in the hospital and Sian's vision kick-started the process.
"Finally, it is here and it has gone beyond a clinical room; for instance, the lighting can be dimmed.
"I know from losing my own baby 14 years ago that it was the harsh lighting that made things so much worse.
"You can hear the monitors, see happy families and your baby has died – you don't want to be around that.
"The new room has sound-dampening, so you can't hear heartbeats and crying babies.
"You build up a lifetime of memories from that room. We want to offer parents as much comfort and care as we can. We can't make the situation any better by providing this room but it aims to stop things getting worse.
"We've also run bereavement training with the midwifery team to help them learn to be compassionate to parents in this situation."
The Snowdrop Suite has home features such as a double bed, recliner chairs, a TV, tea and coffee refreshments, and a changing area to help ease the grieving process.
Havering Sands runs meetings for parents who have gone through a bereavement to give them a chance to talk about what has happened.
Mrs Hunt, who lives in Harold Hill, said: "We meet every four weeks and have a very positive outlook and we don't forget our babies."
Members of Havering Sands and their families helped fundraise for the suite by organising and taking part in activities including marathons, skydives and balloon releases.
At the official opening of the suite, Avril Archibold, labour ward matron at Queen's Hospital, said: "The suite is more than a room to us, it will help signify the care we can give here at Queen's.
"We used to have a sign on the door warning staff of the tragic loss that had happened to the family, now we have subtle, special vases that will have a snowdrop flower in to signify when the room is in use.
"This is just a small example of how the suite will dramatically enhance the quality of care given on the labour ward."
Averil Dongworth, the chief executive of Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, was also present at the opening.
She said: "The suite is a great example of how patients, visitors and families are working together to help enhance the services the trust can provide."
If you have been affected by a similar experience and would like to find out more about Sands call 0207 436 5881.
