THE DAISY SUITE at Royal Cornwall Hospital has been handed back to nursing staff following a £50,000 makeover, thanks to a West Briton-backed appeal to improve the specialist maternity unit.

It marks the end of a two-month scheme to overhaul facilities in the suite, which was used by more than 80 patients last year going through the pain of losing an infant and a miscarriage.

The improvements are thanks to Martyn and Emmillie Selley, of Newbridge, Truro, who recently gave birth to their third child after suffering the loss of their stillborn daughter Ella in December 2009.

Long walk

They launched the charity Ella's Memory in her name and raised £30,000 to make the facility more comfortable for grieving parents by installing a new sofa bed, bathroom, kitchen and camera equipment.

Thanks to their efforts during the past 12 months, several firms have donated goods worth thousands of pounds, including a door and window, which will bear Ella's name, creating a new exit and entrance from the garden.

"It was a long walk through the Wheal Rose ward to the main door. I could hear the baby monitors," said Emmillie, who left the unit in 2009 carrying just a tiny box of items to remember Ella.

"I always said if we can't afford to do anything else I wanted to install a new door. "The fact that women can leave without going through the main maternity ward means a lot and will help others."

The charity, which aims to complete the refurbishment with linen and towels, is still waiting on an anonymous donor's £10,000 pledge made six months ago and yet to be paid.

"Ella is not just a national statistic now she is a story that has helped raise awareness and given people practical help.

"We are so thrilled by the way in which local people have got behind what we set out to do," said Martyn, who will continue supporting the facility and is planning new projects to be announced later in the year.

Karen Stoyles, Wheal Rose sister and lead midwife for bereavement and loss, said: "We have received donations from couples before but nothing on this scale. The staff are really behind what Ella's Memory has achieved. Patients have been asking for a separate entrance, so we are especially pleased with the new door."

Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust chairman Martin Watts said: "Martin and Emily have shown us a truly inspiring achievement in making it possible for the Daisy Suite to be refurbished way beyond our original expectations."