Serenity Appeal Update – August 2023

We are absolutely thrilled to have not only achieved our goal of £150,000 but exceeded it. Our final total is an incredible £169,713.16. This is due to the inspirational efforts of every single one of our just under 400 supporters.

The success of the appeal would not have been possible without the support of local businesses, individuals, community groups and more.

To read more about how we did, click here.

Supporting families through the heartache of baby loss

With much sadness, every year many families suffer the pain and trauma of losing a little one. Although we cannot change what has happened, we can make this experience that little bit easier for our families. As such, we need your help to make significant improvements to our maternity bereavement services so we can provide the gold standard of care that local people deserve

To make these improvements possible, we need to raise £150,000 which will enable us to fund various improvements to our maternity bereavement services across Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital.

The Serenity Suite

Currently women who suffer baby loss at Doncaster Royal Infirmary have to give birth to their sleeping babies on a busy labour ward where they can hear other families celebrating and the cries of infants being born making an already difficult experience even harder.

A major part of the Serenity Appeal will help us fund a specialist bereavement suite named the Serenity Suite. It will be a purpose-built, suite away from the hustle and bustle of the main labour ward, where families can spend time together in safe, secure and serene space where they can grieve the loss of their baby with all of their loved ones with the support of our dedicated Bereavement Midwives.

The Serenity Suite will be in a self-contained environment in our Women’s and Children’s Hospital which provides a homely environment, including additions such as a kitchen and bathroom, a pull-down double bed, counselling room as well as having soft furnishings, lighting and being soundproof, all of which will help support the attendance of family during a highly sensitive time.

Early Pregnancy Unit

The Early pregnancy assessment unit (EPAU) provides an urgent care service at both Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital for complications associated with early pregnancy including the diagnosis and management of miscarriage, ectopic pregnancies and other common early pregnancy-related problems.

Currently women who suffer a miscarriage at Bassetlaw Hospital and require an ultrasound for a diagnosis, have to leave the EPAU unit and walk into a busy scan department which is shared with other patients waiting for either their 12 week or 20-week scans. This adds to an already distressing experience where sadly couples will hear the heart-breaking news they have lost their baby.

To change this, our EPAU unit would like to keep everything under one space but to do this they need a mobile ultrasound scanner. Two colleagues have recently completed training to become Specialist Nurse Sonographers and once they have the scanner, it will mean women will receive care in the same space without having to go through the distressing experience of walking through the hospital twice and having to sit with other pregnant women.

After hearing this news, couples are taken into a counselling room and both of our rooms at Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Bassetlaw Hospital are in need of refurbishment. These rooms enable us to provide privacy and support and we would like to enhance them so the surroundings are more comfortable for our families grieving following the loss of their baby.

Images: an example mobile ultrasound scanner followed by the current Bassetlaw counselling room to be refurbished.

With your support, we can make these much-needed enhancements possible, here is how you can help:

Take Part

To help us reach our target of £150,000, we are delighted to launch our first charity challenge event. We invite you to take on the Yorkshire Three Peaks in 12 hours to help raise funds towards The Serenity Appeal. For more information or to register click the button below.

Fundraise

If you would like to organise your own fundraising activity to help us reach our target of £150,000, you can register your fundraising activity pressing the button below. Once you have registered a member of our Fundraising Team will be in touch to offer support.

Give in Memory

Giving in memory is a special way to remember your baby or a loved one whilst making a valuable contribution to the Serenity Appeal. 

You can pay tribute to the memory of someone special by making a donation, holding a collection at a funeral or memorial service, setting up an online tribute page, making a regular gift to mark a special date, such as a birthday, or take part in an event or challenge in their name.

Your courage and kindness will ensure Doncaster & Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals can continue to provide the highest possible care to our families facing the heartache of baby loss.

If you would like to give in memory please contact us on dbth.charity@nhs.net for support.

Forever Loved Virtual Remembrance page

Our Forever Loved virtual remembrance page is a special place where families can remember their baby in a unique way. Each individual heart balloon will be in memory of a precious and much wanted baby and families can leave a message for their baby or leave a picture if they wish.

Every donation made for a heart balloon will help us get one step closer to reaching our goal of raising £150,000

You can dedicate your heart balloon below

Support for you

The loss of a baby is a deeply sad and upsetting time. If you have experienced loss or have been affected by what you have read on our website, the following organisations can offer help and support:

To contact Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals Bereavement Midwives, please call 01302 642796