Wishart welcomes new bereavement suite

Shetland’s MSP Beatrice Wishart has welcomed the Gilbert Bain Hospital’s new bereavement suite for families suffering early pregnancy loss.

Ms Wishart lodged a parliamentary motion at Holyrood to welcome the suite, named Northern Star, and praise the work undertaken to create it by NHS Shetland and baby loss charity Sands.

The bereavement suite was unveiled on Monday.

Speaking at Holyrood during the week, Ms Wishart said the suite would make “a big difference to families in Shetland”.

“The care that has been taken in the creation of this space is evident and I pay tribute to the hard work of NHS Shetland staff and Marie Manson from Sands, the baby loss charity, in making this possible,” she said.

“The suite will not change the nature of sadness caused by such a loss, but I hope that the care taken to provide greater compassion will help ease the pain for families in need of the service.”

Ms Wishart previously supported the national campaign by Louise Caldwell from East Kilbride for dedicated baby loss spaces in hospitals across the UK.