"Poor and disappointing miscarriage care"

I recently self-referred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Early Pregnancy Unit in Glasgow due to bleeding in early pregnancy. I was given an appointment the next day for a scan.

The sonagrapher was very kind, understanding and showed empathy for my situation. However, a diagnosis was not made and we were told to wait a week until the next scan according to their policy guidelines. This period of time was extremely distressing and I was provided with no psychological support.

I phoned the EPU on several occasions to voice my distress, however almost every phone call I was treated with hostility and a complete lack of compassion.

When we came back for a repeat scan the following week, the sonographer again was lovely. However, the midwife we dealt with was rude and showed a complete lack of compassion for the situation.

The NICE guidelines state that healthcare professionals providing care for women with early pregnancy complications in any setting should be aware that early pregnancy complications can cause significant distress for some women and their partners. Healthcare professionals providing care for these women should be given training in how to communicate sensitively and breaking bad news.

This was not our experience at all. The midwives I experienced actively made the situation worse and I would be concerned to ever have to go back there to receive any kind of care.

Most recently, I received a phone call regarding my blood results, to which I was told meant miscarriage -no condolences were offered or any kind of follow up support available.

Overall, I have found the experience at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital Early Pregnancy Unit shocking and also very concerning. I really hope that no other woman has to experience what I’ve gone through this week with the absolute lack of quality care and compassion.