Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Parents need a place to grieve
MP’s stillbirth plea
MP Hugh Gaffney has called for bereavement suites and counsellors to be available at all neonatal units.
The Coatbridge MP told a Westminster debate: “Four in 10 neonatal units have no access to a trained mental health worker and many still have no dedicated bereavement facilities. We need to do better.
“I am firmly of the view there is a need for bereavement suites in all neonatal units, with increased training and improved staffing levels.”
He added: “I pay tribute to all those parents who have lost children and pledge to use my office to do all I can to ensure the right support is there.”
Mr Gaffney also honoured the memory of his late mother Helen, who died this year at the age of 86.
He told the House of Commons: “Her first job as a young nurse was looking after stillborn children and she looked after those angels as if they were her own.”
He added: “I also want to pay tribute to my late colleague Gordon Encinias, whose own family was sadly touched by infant death.
“But Gordon and his wife turned their heartache into becoming champions of the issue through supporting Bumblebee Babies.
“Gordon helped it to find a property and premises and gave it his support. It now supports parents across Scotland.” A Coatbridge great- gran raised a four-figure sum for a cystic fibrosis charity.
Mary McGuigan, of Cliftonhill, organised an event in Trinity and All Saints Church hall with the help of her granddaughter Julie Cummings and great-grandchildren.
Mary, 83, was supported by more than 100 members of her family and friends for the fundraiser, which made £2500 for the Butterfly Trust, which offers support to people who are living with cystic fibrosis.
The money was raised through ticket sales, raffles and an auction.
A delighted Mary told the Advertiser: “I would like to thank everyone who attended, as well as all the local businesses, which included Universal sports shop, White’s of Coatbridge, Millbank Decorators, and Coatbridge carpet store, to name but a few, for their generosity.”