BEREAVED parents, staff and charities gathered for the official opening of a new bereavement suite.

The two-room suite, which has been supported by the bereavement charities Oscar’s Wish and Abigail’s Footsteps, is located outside the labour ward at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, to allow stillborn babies to be delivered in a protected environment away from other mothers and babies.

Hayley Stevenson, Labour Ward and Pregnancy Loss Lead, said: “For recently bereaved parents, the labour ward can be a very hard place to stay, surrounded as they are by the activities and sounds of deliveries and newborn babies.

“It is difficult to fully express what a difference this Bereavement Suite will make to them.

“It will give bereaved parents time away from the main ward to form bonds with the child they have lost and create memories of them, memories that are so important in the grieving process.”

She added: “There is no timescale for the parents who need this suite.”

Bereavement midwife Shelley Trigwell said: “We consulted with families that have been through a pregnancy loss to create a mood board and find a calming theme for this suite.

“It is incredible that now families can make memories here and that they have their own space here.”

Th gathering for the opening included hospital bereavement staff, representatives of two charities, including Buck’s Fizz singer Cheryl Baker, and staff from Novus Property Solutions, who carried out building work on the suite at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton for free.

It took place on the 13th floor of the Thomas Kemp Tower for its official opening.

Leanne Gates, from Brighton, was at the ceremony after she lost her baby son Jenson in January 2017.

“This would have made a huge difference to us and would have helped us through the grieving process,” Leanne said.

She is now expecting another child.

She added: “I went into labour at 22 weeks with Jenson and he lived for an hour and a half.

“We were on the baby ward with the other mothers, where I could see all the ‘congratulations’ balloons.

“That was very hard. And we didn’t have enough time with him.”

In the new suite is a special Jenson cot, donated by Abigail’s Footsteps, a national bereavement charity focused on stillbirth bereavement, and named after Leanne’s son.

The cot, bearing a plaque that reads “Sometimes the shortest stories are the most beautiful”, keeps babies’ bodies at 40 degrees so that families can spend time with babies after death.

Abigail’s Footsteps and Sussex-based Oscar’s Wish Foundation, a charity offering support and comfort to parents, families and friends after the loss of a baby, had already started fundraising for the suite at the beginning of the year, raising £22,000.

Then a team at Abigail’s Footsteps put the project forward for a nationwide competition run by Novus Property Solutions to mark their fifth year in business and it was selected for support by the company’s employees, who completed the project in just two weeks.

“We had a very emotional panel judging which project out of 118 to choose,” said Sophie Seddon, Novus’s head of marketing. “It had a big impact on staff, especially those who had also suffered bereavements, and particularly on Ray Fielder, our operations manager for the south east region. His wife lost two babies so he really wanted to be involved and he is the person who made the magic happen.”

It is expected about 100 families a year will use the suite, where parents will find bereavement baskets containing practical information provided by Oscar’s Wish Foundation. The charity was founded by Gemma Kybert in memory of her son Oscar, who was stillborn at 26 weeks in 2014.

“I knew I had to create a legacy for him,” said Gemma, who gave birth to another baby six months ago. “After Oscar was born, I kept thinking a mother shouldn’t have to say goodbye to her baby. But I had had to.

“I began the charity to help mothers and fathers, families and friends through the grieving process.”

Cheryl Baker, a member of Buck’s Fizz, the pop group that won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 with Making Your Mind Up, was at the ceremony in support of Abigail’s Footsteps. She became involved after twice fearing she would lose her babies when she was carrying twins.

“Every hospital should have a suite like this,” said the singer. “Unfortunately, it is necessary. I can’t think anything worse than losing a child so it is wonderful this suite is here.”