27th May 2014 Beckenham slimmers celebrate losing over 51 stone and helping The Bereavement Unit on the Maternity Suite at Princess Royal Hospital A group of big-hearted slimmers from Beckenham are celebrating losing 51 stone 7.5 lbs between them and raising £3116.00 as part of a sponsored slim for The Bereavement Suite, known as the Robinson Suite, on the maternity unit at Princess Royal University Hospital in Farnborough.

Members of the St James Slimming World group, which is held every week at St James Church Hall on St James Avenue in Beckenham, were taking part in a national campaign called Slim for Good running across all 11,000 Slimming World groups in the UK and Ireland. The aim of the six-week drive, which kicked off on February 24th, was to help people to lose weight and improve their health while raising money for a good cause in their local area.

The 120 slimmers in the St James group voted for the worthy cause they wanted to support throughout the campaign and chose The Bereavement Suite because one of the members in the group is a midwife on the maternity unit and she explained the vital role that the unit provide for parents who sadly lose their babies through still birth or miscarriage.

The room was opened in May 2013 and is situated in the delivery suite of the hospital and is a custom-built room with an en suite bathroom. It is designed to have a home-from-home feel with a double bed, a TV, a fridge, a microwave and a leather sofa. Parents are able to have their baby with them at any time and for as long as they wish.

Christine Stephen, who runs the group and has lost 6 ½ stone in total herself, says the Slim for Good campaign gave members of the group an added incentive to achieve their weight-loss dreams: “Supporting a worthwhile cause like The Robinson Suite has given everyone a special focus and real commitment to their weight-loss goals. For many members being sponsored has been a great way to kick start their weight loss and for others it’s been a boost to help them stay on track. At Slimming World we pride ourselves on the care and support we give each other to lose weight – we’re known as the club with the big heart – so when members started talking about raising money for The Robinson Suite and what we could all do together, there really was no stopping us. I’m so proud of what the members in the group have achieved during the six weeks of the campaign.”

Christine hopes the group’s success will inspire other people in the local community to lose weight and improve their health too. She says: “Six weeks doesn’t sound like a long time, but in that period I’ve seen so many changes, people losing weight, feeling happier and healthier than ever, and their confidence increasing. And the really great thing is that as they’ve lost weight the Slimming World way, they’ve achieved all this without ever going hungry or feeling deprived.”

Lisa Moss, a specialist bereavement midwife said, ‘It’s vital women have the right support when they lose their baby. We are one of only a handful of hospitals across the whole country to have a bereavement centre and as a team we are proud that we can offer this service.

The money raised by the slimmers at Slimming World will go towards the up-keep of the room and for extras such as a camera, a printer, and materials for taking hand and footprints and making memory boxes for the parents to keep. I was thrilled when Christine contacted me to say that they wanted to support the unit and I am very grateful to her and her slimmers for raising so much. It really will make such a difference to the mums we work with.’ Anyone wanting to join the St James Slimming World group is welcome every Wednesday at 5pm or 7pm at St James Church Hall, St James Avenue or they can call Christine on 07703 367448 for more information.

Based on information supplied by Christine Stephen.