'It upset me to see state of baby memorial garden'
BBCA woman who had a miscarriage with her first child has said she was left saddened when she saw the state of the memorial garden where there is a plaque in his memory.
Carole Moore, 66, regularly visits the garden at Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester as "somewhere to go and remember him and what might have been".
But she said the garden had declined over the years with overgrown plants covering some of the memorial plaques, adding: "It really upset me."
Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust said the garden was managed by a contractor but it had listened carefully to the concerns raised and would be looking into this matter. Improvement works are already under way.
Carol lost her son, who she named Neil Martin, in 1980.
More than three years later, her nephew - Gareth Russell - died of sudden infant death syndrome in 1983.
"Although [Neil] was never born or took a breath, he still, for me, existed," said Carol.
"Neil Martin and Gareth Russell are both together there and we like to think about them playing up there in the clouds."
Carol, who has retired from her job as a medical secretary at Salford Royal, said she was saddened when she visited the garden to see its declining state.
"It was that badly overgrown that some people's memorials were buried under the overgrowth and it really upset me," she said.
"So I thought, I've got time now, I'm going to make it my mission to make sure that gardens are looked after properly."
She said she wanted the garden to be named after Dr Gordon Falconer, who died in June 2018.
The consultant helped with her second pregnancy and the pair also worked together at the hospital.
"He was a really, really fabulous consultant. He didn't look down on anybody," she said.
"He was just a really nice man.
"He looked after lots and lots of selfless women and I just think it'd be nice to have that garden named after him."
His daughter Jackie Falconer, 59, said her father would love the memorial garden to be named after him.
"He was just one in a million," she said.
"Everybody's got a story about him and it would be nice to have something to remember him by."
Suzanne Robinson, deputy chief executive officer at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, said: "We fully recognise how important this space is for Mrs Moore as a place of reflection and remembrance for those loved ones she has lost.
"Although the memorial garden is managed by a contractor, our Estates and Facilities teams carry out regular checks to help ensure it is maintained appropriately.
"We have listened carefully to the concerns raised and will be looking into this matter, taking any necessary steps to improve the upkeep of the area."
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