"I felt like I was an inconvenience to staff"

I had to visit EPAS at QEUH recently and had a less than satisfactory experience. By the end, I was made to feel like I was merely a number and an inconvenience to staff.

As a medical professional myself, I think it is important to raise these issues – I was fortunate enough to have a reasonable understanding of the process, but I can’t imagine how much worse it might be for somebody unfamiliar with the field. I lost an early pregnancy, and there was a general lack of compassion and signposting on show that was deeply concerning to me.

For my first EPAS visit, the staff were running late but apologised which I appreciated. Staff were polite, introduced themselves, explained the process and answered any questions we had. I had a follow-up phone call the following day, which was brief but covered the relevant information at that time.

My second EPAS visit was in for bloods only, so was a brief appointment. The phone call the next morning (to inform me I had lost my pregnancy) unfortunately lasted less than 90 seconds. There was no acknowledgement that this may cause upset, no compassion, or signposting to support services. It felt very cold, and I was especially concerned that no-one checked I had support or knew how to access this. I was told would that I would need to come back for bloods in a week, but was given no explanation as to why these were needed. Fortunately, I knew myself what this would require – but again, a non-medical professional would have been none the wiser.

For my third EPAS visit, I was seen by a staff member who did not introduce herself (no name, no position/grade), was unaware of my history and came across as insensitive. No reassurance was offered, no discussion regarding advice trying to conceive again, what to expect on my next period, no signposting to support networks. When I asked about any follow-up, I was simply told not to worry.

The subsequent and final follow-up phone call was very brief. It seemed as if the staff member was trying to get off the call as quickly as possible. I was told that my bloods were now normal and that I was discharged from the service – but I actively had to ask questions to obtain this information.

I appreciate that staff are busy, however working as clinician in the NHS myself, I think the importance of professionalism and empathy, and being mindful of language choices with a patient, goes a long way to making that patient’s experience more tolerable, particularly when dealing with such an upsetting situation. I appreciate that staff are seeing similar presentations daily, however remembering that there is a patient in front of you rather than a set of protocols would make the experience much less traumatic for patients. In particular, the lack of signposting and advice for future pregnancies seemed a red flag to me.

I would appreciate if you would consider the above information and what could be improved in the service. I look forward to your response.