Parent bereavement suite opened at Royal Surrey
A dedicated suite for parents whose babies are stillborn or who die soon after birth has been opened at the Royal Surrey County Hospital.
Parents from stillbirth and neonatal death charity Surrey Sands raised £48,000 to build the bereavement suite at the Guildford hospital.
The Forget-Me-Not suite was opened on Friday by BBC presenter Matt Allwright and MP for Guildford, Anne Milton.
"This is a flagship project for Sands," said project co-ordinator Wendy Cook.
"We are immensely proud to have achieved it."
The suite contains a soundproofed delivery area, en-suite shower room and a separate nursing ante-room.
"The importance of a setting like this cannot be underestimated in helping parents come to terms with their loss, enabling them to spend precious time with their baby and other family members creating memories that have to last a lifetime," said Ms Cook.
Eight main fundraisers undertook events including cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats, running the London Marathon and a 150-mile cycle ride round Surrey.
"We are extremely grateful to Surrey Sands for providing a homely environment in which we can provide sensitive midwifery, medical and emotional care to women and their families at a time of great loss," said the hospital's head of midwifery Jenny Hughes.