Royal Oldham Hospital considering a separate waiting room in maternity

Following a new labour ward Bereavement Centre, The Royal Oldham Hospital is considering creating a separate waiting room in their maternity ward for mothers who have had miscarriages.

The Bereavement Centre for families who have lost babies opened on Saturday 10 February.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/116197/new-labour-ward-bereavement-centre-opens-at-the-royal-oldham-hospital

Located in a room adjacent to the labour ward, the suite offers a place where parents can be alone with their child for reflection, with the aim to provide a safe haven for bereaved families away from the clinical area, in a comfortable, homely setting, offering privacy away from other families.

Prior to the new centre opening, bereaved families were cared for in a fairly normal clinical delivery room, with no proper facilities for partners to stay. 

Following this news, a Rochdale Online reader contacted us to ask about a separate room following her own experience of suffering a miscarriage.

She said: “All I'm asking is for a small, separate room. My husband and I suffered a miscarriage of our first and only baby. I was actually still having the miscarriage when we went to hospital. I had to wait in the same waiting room as women that were there to have 12-week scans etc. This was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life and will stick with me for the rest of it: I truly would not wish it upon my worst nightmare.”

Penny Martin, Divisional Managing Director for the Women and Children’s Division at The Royal Oldham Hospital said: “We would like to express our sympathy to the family concerned for their loss.

“We are aware that the current situation is far from ideal for women who are experiencing a miscarriage and we are considering how we can create a separate waiting area in the near future, to give them the personal space and privacy they need at this time.”