This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

12 and 20 weeks scan experiences

Posted By watsl3

"12 and 20 weeks scan experiences"

About: Forth Valley Royal Hospital / Maternity unit

(as a relative),

We went for our scans at nhs forth valley LARBERT. 

A small bit of background to our situation, my partner suffers with severe anxiety and ocd. 

We have had some private scans and know the difference between a good and bad experience.

So at our first 12 week scan we said about her anxiety but the sonographer   didn't seem to be bothered and was very unsympathetic to our situation and any questions we had were answered short and we left more confused than anything.

We complained about our experience and the manager also seemed to not grasp the seriousness of my partners anxiety and was unsympathetic and basically sided with the sonographer. 

They did say we would get a different sonographer next time. 

Our 20 scan was also not a great experience either. 

The sonographer was very robotic and we asked if the hand was up at the face but they were adamant it was the babies nose bone we brushed it off. 

Then we asked if the baby was the right size for how far along my partner was, we didn't get an answer and were just shown a table of results on a screen which we didn't understand and none of it was ever explained to us. 

The sonographer than couldn't scan the babies heart properly so I asked why which the reply was it could be your partners increased bmi. My partner naturally then worried and asked would everything be ok which they just shrugged and said they didn't know. 

The sonographer said we would need to come back in 2 weeks and to book another appointment at the front desk. 

We went to the front desk, and the sonographer followed us and told us to sit in the waiting area, after telling us to go the desk. We were a bit confused so sat down but we got the impression they were being awkward and possibly upset that we had complained about the work colleague who had done our 12 week scan and was also stood at the desk when we sat down. 

This made us feel uncomfortable at the awkward situation the 2nd sonographer put us in.

Hence this story to make people aware of being well informed on which hospital they choose, particularly if they have mental health conditions.

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Gail Bell, Deputy Head of Midwifery, Women and Children, NHS Forth Valley 5 years ago
Gail Bell
Deputy Head of Midwifery, Women and Children,
NHS Forth Valley

Submitted on 28/08/2018 at 16:25
Published on Care Opinion at 16:33

Dear watsl3

Thank you for your posting.

I am sorry to hear that you and your partner did not have a better experience of our ultrasound department at your second scan.

Pregnancy is an exciting time but can also be a bit scary especially where there is history of severe anxiety already. It would be hoped that staff would take account of this, taking the time to give support and helpful answers to make your experience a good one. Mental health is an area of care which we take very seriously in pregnancy.

We expect staff to treat our women in a friendly, professional manner irrespective of any previous issues raised.

I will take your comments and discuss them with the team so that we can look at how we learn from what you have told us.

I hope that your partner’s pregnancy continues to go well and that her journey and experiences in our care improve. If you would like to discuss anything further I would be more than happy for you to contact me via email at gailbell@nhs.net or by telephone on 01324567484.

With best wishes for a wonderful future as parents.

Kind regards

Gail

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k