"Attending urgent care unit in early pregnancy"

I was advised by 111 to attend West Middlesex Hospital urgent care unit during the early hours as I had started bleeding at 5 weeks pregnant. Despite it being very empty due to covid, my experience at the urgent care centre wasn’t great.

After several attempts I had to say very loudly ‘possible ectopic pregnancy’ and ‘vaginal bleeding’ until (very polite) ward clerk could hear me over the intercom system. Nevertheless, the entire waiting room was aware of why I was there which was really mortifying... I was then seen really quickly by the nurse and a GP. The waiting times were really great.

The GP took my observations, asked me to take a pregnancy test and then I was told that there was no one to do anything like a scan at that time of night. I was advised to go home but return if pain increases in my pelvis as then it would indicate that I may have internal bleeding from an ectopic pregnancy and be considered an emergency and would require surgery.

I asked if there was something more preventative that could be done, rather than waiting for emergency surgery and he said not at this time of night. I was quite unsure why I had travelled into a hospital in the middle of the night during the pandemic for everything I already knew to be relayed to me.

The GP said he would refer me to the early pregnancy clinic and said they would be in touch within a few days or a week but to be sure to come back if I thought I had internal bleeding. He also said it was very early in the pregnancy and kind of shook off my entire experience.

The next day I was contacted by the consultant at the early pregnancy unit. I was screened and booked in for a scan within the hour. I spent most of the day there waiting for various tests and scan results. The staff, in contrast to my experience in urgent care, were really amazing. They listened to me, were empathetic and I felt they did everything they could to help me and make me feel safe.

The experience I had at the early pregnancy unit at West Middlesex was amazing. However, the experience I had at the urgent care centre, despite it being quick, was poor and improvements could be made in this department of the hospital in relation to how to manage people in these situations. I felt completely disregarded, like I shouldn’t have been there.