Bereaved mums help shape new compassionate maternity spaces at Royal Lancaster Infirmary

Bereaved families have helped to create two new purpose-built maternity spaces at a Lancaster hospital.

The new Maternity Triage Unit and The Willow (Bereavement) Suite opened to the public at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary on Monday April 13.

The £2m facilities offer increased comfort and faster access to care at some of the most significant times in people’s lives.

All of the women who influenced the design of The Willow Suite are members of Matilda's Mission, an informal baby and child loss support group.

Matilda’s Mission supports local families who have experienced baby or child loss. The organisers hold fully funded, regular, informal, peer support groups and activities for mums, dads, siblings and grandparents. 

“When you are living through an incredibly traumatic time, the surrounding environment matters more than you realise," said Biba Charlton, one of the bereaved mums.

“You have a very short time to make all the memories you will ever make with your baby, so ensuring the environment is right means that those memories are as positive as they possibly can be. This time is very precious and all the small details that may seem insignificant, are actually what become treasured memories."

The new unit and suite were built by hospital owners University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust (UHMBT), who said they mark an important step forward in how the Trust supports women, pregnant people and families.

“We were listened to and consulted right from the start," said Biba.

"We were all really pleased that the staff at UHMBT valued our input. As service users who have lived experience, we were able to add a valuable perspective to the planning of the rooms, the garden, privacy, decor, lighting and even keeping the name ‘The Willow Suite’, which holds a special meaning to many families who have used this room in the past.

“We want to thank the Maternity Team for working with families every step of the way. They believed that the people who had experienced this loss were exactly the right people to help shape this space. We did this for every family that comes after us, so they know they are not alone.”

Inside the new facilities

Emma Taylor, also a bereaved mum, said: “People don’t always know what to say, and sometimes that means they say nothing at all.

"The silence can feel like your baby never existed. What every family needs is to feel seen and to feel that their baby mattered.

“It is a bittersweet feeling to see The Willow Suite finished. You are proud of what has been created, but you feel sad knowing why it needs to exist. You don’t want anyone to ever have to use it, but knowing that if they do, they’ll have somewhere comforting to go - that gives it meaning.

“Sometimes people forget the other children in the family. It breaks their hearts too. We have included books and toys in the Willow Suite because those children need comfort as well.”

Lindsey Graydon, Biba’s mum, said: “I lost a baby in the 1980s.

"You weren’t given time and you weren’t given space. You were expected to grieve quietly and move on. A space like the Willow Suite would have made a huge difference to me. This is real humanity.

“I am both a bereaved mum and a bereaved grandmother. My daughter Biba lost a baby too. I have no idea where my baby is and this happened to many women at the time, but the care and this new environment has changed all that now. 

"When I walk into the Willow Suite, I think of every family who will sit in those chairs and I hope they feel less alone than I did.”

Diana Shaw, Natasha Chalmers, Biba Charlton, Emma Taylor and Lindsey Graydon

Diana Shaw, another of the bereaved mums, said: “Nothing can prepare you for the silence.

"The pain never leaves you; it just changes shape over the years. You carry your baby in your heart every single day.

“We asked for calming lights because light matters when you are in a dark place.

"We didn’t want it to feel like a clinical environment; we wanted it to feel like a home from home. In those precious hours, you’re not a patient. You’re a mum and you deserve to feel like one.

“We have a sign saying ‘welcome’ in many different languages, because everyone is welcome here. Every parent who loses a baby deserves to feel that this space was made for them.”

Natasha Chalmers, also a bereaved mum, said: “The pull down bed means partners can stay with their partner in bed rather than sleeping on a pull out bed.

"The duvet and pillows are an extra comfort rather than it just being hospital blankets. Grief shared is slightly easier to deal with.

“We wanted to bring the outside inside with the willow tree artwork, the green colours and the courtyard garden.

"We would now like personal care items for the suite too; little comforts for mums going through something no one should have to go through. A soft towel, a gentle cream. Small things, but they say: we thought of you.”

Janet Gorry, who cut the ribbon at the opening event on Thursday March 26, said: “The trust has listened to the voices of bereaved families, I can see the input of bereaved families everywhere in the Willow Suite and courtyard garden. 

Janet Gorry and Sue Foyle, Director of Midwifery, cutting the ribbon to open the Maternity Triage Unit at the RLI

"The trust has developed a peaceful place where families can have some precious time together.”

Delivered by the Trust’s Capital Services team, the facilities have been shaped through extensive consultation with parents, colleagues and the Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnership.

The result is two dedicated environments designed to improve maternity care and to create surroundings that feel safe, dignified and comfortable for bereaved families.

The new Maternity Triage Unit, which was officially opened on Thursday March 26, will transform how urgent pregnancy concerns are assessed. There are dedicated waiting and assessment areas, separate from the main Delivery Suite.

Women and pregnant people will no longer need to wait in corridors or busy antenatal areas when they are anxious about symptoms such as reduced fetal movements, pain or bleeding.

The unit will be staffed 24 hours per day, seven days a week by two midwives. They will use a structured triage system to ensure the most urgent issues are identified and dealt with quickly.

The Willow Suite with its private courtyard garden will offer a private sanctuary for families facing pregnancy loss.

Located adjacent to the Delivery Suite, the space has been designed to give families time, peace and support when they need it most.

The suite includes a spacious room with an ensuite bathroom and direct access to the private garden - a quiet and natural space where families can reflect, grieve and simply be together.

Helena Brown, Matron for Maternity Inpatient Services at the RLI, said: “We are absolutely delighted with these new spaces for families.

Helena Brown, Ali Mayor and Fiona Ducksbury from the RLI

"The Willow Suite will provide the privacy and calm environment people need, without it feeling overly clinical. It will offer families a safer and improved experience.”

Many elements of The Willow Suite have been chosen by families themselves, from soothing colour palettes and gentle lighting to thoughtful additions such as ceiling murals and books for other children in the family.

Treasured donations such as ‘cold cots’ will continue to be available to support families in spending precious time with their babies.

Susan Foyle, Director of Midwifery, UHMBT, said: “Improving maternity care for families is at the heart of everything we do.

"These two new facilities will make a meaningful difference to the people who use our services.

“The new Maternity Triage Unit will ensure women and pregnant people with urgent concerns receive timely, reassuring and well-coordinated care, while The Willow Suite will give grieving families the privacy and supportive environment they need.

"These developments will create safer, calmer and more compassionate spaces for families at some of the most profound moments in their lives.

“We are deeply grateful to families and our colleagues for the care and thought they have put into developing these fantastic new facilities.”