Garden opened in memory of maternity care pioneer

The Silver Star garden is outside the hospital where Prof Redman worked for so long

A garden has been opened in memory of a doctor who revolutionised maternity care.

Prof Chris Redman conducted world-renowned research into pre-eclampsia and set up a dedicated maternal medicine unit at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital.

His death in 2024 aged 82 prompted the creation of a Silver Star garden, named after the unit he founded.

It was opened in a ceremony on Tuesday attended by his widow Corinna and former colleagues.

"It's very special for me and all my family," Mrs Redman said.

"They're so pleased he's being commemorated in this way, and it's lovely that it's here at the John Radcliffe where we worked for such a long time."

Corinna Redman said it was a "special day" seeing her husband commemorated at the garden

Silver Star manager Maggie Findlay had the original idea for the garden.

"Nature is very healing, so it's so important for staff and patients to have this space they can escape to if they need to," she said.

The decision to dedicate it to Prof Redman stemmed from his support for its creation as well as his green-fingered nature.

"He loved gardens, he loved plants, and I think he would be so thrilled that we've dedicated this in his memory." Mrs Findlay said.

Prof Redman originally came to Oxford in the 1970s and soon took over the care of mothers with pregnancy issues.

He also co-founded the Dawes-Redman system, which analyses foetal heart rate before labour to detect distress early.

The Silver Star Unit itself was named after the stickers he would use to highlight high risk patients so he could find them among his copious notes.