THE grateful family of a prematurely born baby boy have given “a lasting legacy” to the hospital that saved his life.

Alfie Jack Simpson, of High Farm, Arrad Foot, near Ulverston, weighed just three pounds when he was born six weeks early at Furness General Hospital, Barrow, on June 12, 2016.

But his mum Jill has never forgotten the trauma of her tiny son being taken by ambulance to go into intensive care at Lancaster, almost 50 miles away, when his condition worsened.

Jill was too poorly to leave the maternity unit at Barrow during their four days apart. And tiny Alfie Jack then spent another seven weeks at Furness General (FGH) before parents Jill and Stuart could finally take him home.

Thanks to more than £8,000 raised by the Simpson family and friends, a new parents’ room has now opened at FGH where mums and dads can stay if their new-born baby is born poorly or needs extra help.

The donation has also allowed the Bay hospitals charity to buy four recliner chairs for the hospital’s Special Care Baby Unit – allowing mothers and fathers to hold their baby by the side of an incubator or cot.

They are also more comfortable for new mums who have had a Caesarean birth.

Speaking at the official opening, Jill said: “Being here today with Alfie Jack – now two-and-a-half years old – and seeing the new parents’ room for the first time makes Stuart and I feel so proud.

“As a family, we really wanted to give something back to the hospital because without the incredible care we received from the teams at FGH and the RLI, Alfie wouldn’t be here today.”

Jill recalled: “I cannot begin to describe how awful it was to be separated from Alfie Jack at a time that should have been one of the happiest times in our lives.

“They took him away in an ambulance and he spent four days in intensive care at Lancaster before they brought him back to FGH, where he spent another seven weeks in hospital before we could take him home.

“The day we were told we could take him home was so special for us all. Unless you’ve been in that situation yourself, you cannot begin to know how it feels to be apart from your newborn baby.”

Helped by family and friends, Jill, Stuart and daughters Katie, Hayley, Courtney and Jodie raised more than £8,000 for the hospitals charity with events such as a barn dance on their farm, a charity auction and a village hall dance for Jill’s dad’s 70th birthday.

The Simpson family have praised all the doctors and nurses at Barrow and Lancaster as “absolutely fantastic”. They said clinical leader Charlotte Johnson and specialist neo-natal nurse practitioner Barbara Foster, on the special care baby unit at FGH, were both “incredible and really went above and beyond.”