The Butterfly Room Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda

Fiona Mulligan

Bereavement Support Midwife

The Butterfly Room

A butterfly alights beside us

Like a sunbeam

And for a brief moment its glory

and beauty belongs to this world

But then it flies on again and

although we wish it could have

stayed

We are so thankful we have seen it

at all

Why?

7/7/2014

•Designed purposely for bereaved

parents and their families

•Private

•Spacious

•34 families have availed of this room

since opening

How the room was developed

• Challenges

• Originally a 2-bed ward on the Postnatal Ward

• Refurbished and opened in October 2012, with the help and support of outside sponsors and staff members through fundraising

• Sound-proofed

• Butterfly name inspired by Feileacain

• Communication to public

• A double bed • A comfortable 2-seater couch and single

armchair • Extra stackable chairs • Tea/Coffee making facility • A toy-box • A cuddle-cot • Discreet wicker basket

What makes the room

special?

En-Suite Bathroom

Support from external organisations:

Discreet Wicker Basket

Book of Remembrance

What people say:

7/7/2014

• “It’s great to see that things are changing

and that Bereavement care is seen as so

important.”

•“The little things, the blanket, the candle,

the prayer service, the little white coffin

helped us in our time of loss and

devastation.”

•“It means so much to have the space, the

time, to create so many memories.”

What people say

• “The room was great, we could keep our baby with us, it was quiet and very private.”

• “I wish it was available when my baby died, it’s beautiful.”

• “A special room, a special place, for a special time”

A healing environment

• “Little do we know about the way in which we are affected by form, colour, by light, we do know this, that they have a physical effect. Variety of form and brilliancy of colour in the objects presented to patients is the actual means of recovery”

(Florence Nightingale, 1863)