Specialist stillborn suite to open at Plymouth hospital after appeal

Jen and Greg Phillips said it was important to have a dedicated area to help parents come to terms with loss

The parents of a stillborn baby girl have told of their pride at the opening of a specialist suite in Plymouth for parents experiencing loss.

The Snowdrop Suite is to officially open at Derriford Hospital on Tuesday following a campaign started by Greg and Jen Phillips, from Plympton.

The Snowdrop Appeal began after their daughter Jasmine was stillborn in 2009.

Mr Phillips said of the journey: "It's going to be a really emotional day, but a proud day."

As well as having a private entrance and exit, the suite has a labour care room, a bedroom, a family room and a kitchenette.

The suite has a family room, a bedroom, a labour care room and a kitchenette

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust said it was built entirely through charitable donations of equipment and funds from the campaign totalling £217,000.

• Listen: Jen and Greg Phillips have been fundraising for 14 years

Mrs Phillips said it was incredibly important to have a dedicated area to help parents come to terms with their loss after they were "both devastated" at what happened to them.

She said: "People were just walking past with balloons, babies, and you just knew you weren't having yours.

"We were sent home and we thought we've got to do something different - we thought we've got to make this different for other people."

It has been named the Snowdrop Appeal after Mr Phillips' mother found a single snowdrop flower in her garden on the day of Jasmine's funeral.

Mr Phillips praised NHS staff for listening to parents on the design of the new facility

Mr Phillips said the experience of losing his daughter "felt like a grenade".

He said: "You get those really haunting words: 'We're really sorry you've lost your baby.'

"The room we were in, as nice as all the staff were, just was not really geared for it.

"You feel that you're in a bubble; but, within that bubble, you can hear babies crying outside, people walking by with balloons and teddies, and mums in labour.

"It was just absolutely gut-wrenching."

He praised NHS staff for listening to parents on the design of the new facility.

Mrs Phillips said of the campaign: "We couldn't have done it without everyone."

Sue Wilkins, the trust's director of maternity services, said staff were "incredibly grateful" for the facilities and being able to "provide a better service for people experiencing bereavement care".