"A&E / Gyne"

I'm in my first trimester and started bleeding. We rang the EPAU to self refer, having previously miscarried we thought we would be able to book an appt for a scan to confirm our situation. We were told by the receptionist (9am 21.11.19) we needed to have had 3 previous miscarriages to self refer and just come to A&E if bleeding got worse. We came to A&E the initial consultation/tests were fine. Then the gyne team took me to a small room asked some questions, didn't clearly explain anything and just told me to 'get undressed'. They didn't say what clothes I needed to remove just pointed to the bed. They came back and prodded my stomach really hard and intrusively (didn't explain why they were doing this) and stated 'I need to see inside' and I was told to get undressed more and they left the room. I put my trousers back on feeling incredibly stressed and scared. I was pregnant and didn't want further intrusive examinations, that may harm / worsen my current situation. I was lead to believe when we rang the EPAU if we came to A&E we would be given an internal scan to tell us if we were miscarrying. Instead the gyne docs wanted to look at my cervix then send me home to wait days for scan. I started crying and became hysterical as I just needed to know if my baby was still alive as no one was listening to me and everyone was telling me different things. They eventually managed to book me in with a consultant at the EPAU that day. Once I got there and saw the consultant they were amazing, reassuring and faultless.

The gyne A&E staff need to be work on their communication skills, I was relatively calm in A&E but there lack of explanation about what was happening, when told to 'get undressed' be specific!? Take off my trousers? Knickers? Why? what they were doing to me? 'I need to look inside' said to the other doctor not me like I wasnt there. Instead of just mumbling at me then leaving the room. The whole experience felt unsupportive, awkward and stressful like they just wanted to rush me out of there so they could send me home. The way you treat potential miscarriages in A&E needs addressing to be sensitive and supportive.

The last time I miscarried I self referred to the EPAU and the process was calm, supportive and faultless. I was given an internal scan and the outcome confirmed.

However this time the A&E experience was hell.