Room will bring comfort to heartbroken parents
New space in hospital for grieving families is praised
01.09.2017 Parents going through the heartbreak of losing their baby will be able to take comfort in a newly designed room at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Scottish charity SiMBA, which helps families going through the trauma of baby loss, is working with the Paisley hospital to redesign its family room.
The maternity unit at the RAH already has a room where parents can take their baby who is dying or has died, to spend precious time with them.
But bosses at SiMBA are planning on making changes to the room to make it more comfortable and homely for families in their darkest hours.
Gillian Wells from the charity said: “In the past the baby was taken away overnight and brought back.
“We’ll provide a cuddle cot and now there’s an option for parents to take their baby home in a cuddle cot with support from hospital staff.
“We want to support parents and those affected by the loss of a baby.
“We recognise it’s not just the initial family who are affected by the loss of a baby but it’s siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends.
“It’s not just the baby who’s died, it’s their hopes and dreams.
“We try and make the room as comfortable as we can for families.
“It’s got very basic things like a kettle for tea and coffee so they don’t have to buzz for a member of staff to bring it to them.
“A TV for children to watch, a sofa or double bed rather than a hospital bed.
“We try to make it as homely as we can while recognising the mum may still need hospital attention.”
SiMBA is working with Lisa Hague, the wife of former Celtic player Kris Commons, on their family rooms.
Lisa and Kris set up the Lola Commons Fund for SiMBA after the stillbirth of her first daughter Lola in 2008.
Lisa said: “Everyone has their own story, everyone has experienced loss and everyone has dealt with it in their own way.
“When we lost Lola we didn’t see her or hold her. “We didn’t spend time with her. “Having a family room in the Royal Alexandra Hospital donated by the Lola Commons Fund for SiMBA is incredibly important to us.
“I am passionate about empowering parents to talk about their babies, and not to be scared to make the most of the time that they have together and ensuring that more of these family rooms exist.”
As well as enabling hospitals to have appropriate family rooms, SiMBA also fundraises to provide bereaved families with memory boxes, provides training and support for medical staff dealing with baby loss, has online support forums via its private Facebook group and holds butterfly releases to fundraise and help grieving families come together.
Sara Fitzsimmons, executive director of SiMBA, said: “I have been a practising midwife for 21 years.
“The difference that family rooms can make to a parent’s experience within the hospital is incredible, allowing precious time together that isn’t rushed.
“I cannot thank all of our incredible fundraisers enough for providing the money to make this room a reality.
“Each and every one of SiMBA’s family rooms are created with passion, using the experiences and suggestions from staff and bereaved families.
“We are very excited to work with the Royal Alexandra Hospital on this project.”
Jacqueline Crawford, senior charge midwife at the Royal Alexandra Hospital said: “We are delighted to receive ongoing support from SiMBA.
“Their excellent work brings comfort to parents who have suffered the loss of a baby.”