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heartbreaking

Story from nhs.uk

"heartbreaking"

About: Lincoln County Hospital

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I sat in a&e for 6 hours in a pool of blood following a miscarriage, i rang 111 who sent me to a&e due to the amount of blood loss. i had passed a large clot which i was told to keep. After being kept waiting for 2 hours initially, i was questioned as to if i was ever pregnant, and left for a further 2 hours still bleeding. The clot i had kept wrapped in a tissue, not knowing if i was holding my baby in my hands was thrown away into a bin in front of me without even being looked at. After a long wait i am finally seen by a doctor, who was kind enough to inform me i had blood on my trousers, and further accuse me of maybe imagining the pregnancy. After blood tests she confirms that i was pregnant and having a miscarriage. i left, still bleeding heavily, knowing no more than when i arrived, just sad and emotionally tired after my experience. 5 weeks later while on holiday i end up in theatre, recieving a d&c, something the uk should have offered me. This experience further causing pain and anguish. Miscarriage is a sad and hard time, and something that should have been dealt with, with more care and respect.

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Responses

Response from Sharon Kidd, Patient Experience Manager, Patient Experience, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 10 years ago
Sharon Kidd
Patient Experience Manager, Patient Experience,
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 04/09/2013 at 11:37
Published on Care Opinion at 11:59

picture of Sharon Kidd

Your story was very hard to read and I would like to say sorry for what was clearly an extremely distressing and upsetting experience. The standards and the quality of care you have described fall way below what we expect.

Could you possibly contact linda.higginbottom@ulh.nhs.uk directly with a few more details (name and date of attendence) and she can then look into your treatment and concerns that you have raised and come back to you?

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Response from Ruth Bender Atik, National Director, The Miscarriage Association 10 years ago
Ruth Bender Atik
National Director,
The Miscarriage Association

Submitted on 04/09/2013 at 12:10
Published on Care Opinion at 13:19

I'm so sorry to read of the loss of your baby. The care you received was clearly very poor and that can only have added to your distress.

If you think it might be helpful to get support and/or information at this difficult time, do please contact us at the Miscarriage Association, either by email (info@miscarriageassociation.org.uk) or phone (01924 200795) - or you may want to visit our website www.miscarriageassociation.org.uk.

Here's wishing you gentler times ahead.

Ruth

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Response from Jennie Negus, Head of Patient Experience, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 10 years ago
Jennie Negus
Head of Patient Experience,
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 10/09/2013 at 08:18
Published on Care Opinion at 08:46

picture of Jennie Negus

I asked the staff at Lincoln County A&E to consider your experience and story despite not having more detail about you personally and they have asked me to post the following to you:

"‘We are really very sorry that you felt you were not dealt with in a caring and respectful way. We expect all patients, whatever their presentation to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect and clearly this was not your experience.

All patients attending A&E are assessed objectively by both nursing and medical staff using processes which prioritise clinical need. Whilst this may seem harsh, particularly to those who may be feeling distressed, it is the safest mechanism with which to deliver care to the number and variety of people who come to the emergency department.

As health care professionals we appreciate that what may be ‘normal’ for us, can be frightening and distressing for a person experiencing it, and we need to take the time to reduce fears and ensure we are meeting all our patient’s needs. We are very sorry if on this occasion we failed to provide adequate support to you at this distressing time and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you further if you would like to get in touch".

Please also be assured that your story has been heard and shared with staff and we have used your experience to remind all staff of the importance of checking on, anticipating and considering patients needs, anxieties and fears. Please once again accept our sincere apologies.

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Response from Lincoln County Hospital 10 years ago
Lincoln County Hospital

Submitted on 19/12/2013 at 11:56
Published on nhs.uk on 20/12/2013 at 03:00

Your story was very hard to read and I would like to say sorry for what was clearly an extremely distressing and upsetting experience. The standards and the quality of care you have described fall way below what we expect. Your posting was also placed on the Patient Opinion website and I first replied to it there assuming it would be fed back to you via NHS Choices; unfortunately this did not happen and I have asked NHS Choices why - I am sorry because I dont want you to think that we have not listened to you. Could you possibly contact linda.higginbottom@ulh.nhs.uk directly with a few more details (name and date of attendence) and she can then look into your treatment and concerns that you have raised and come back to you? Linda is the deputy director at Lincoln County. I asked the staff at Lincoln County A&E to consider your experience and story despite not having more detail about you personally and they have asked me to post the following to you: "‘We are really very sorry that you felt you were not dealt with in a caring and respectful way. We expect all patients, whatever their presentation to be treated with dignity, compassion and respect and clearly this was not your experience. All patients attending A&E are assessed objectively by both nursing and medical staff using processes which prioritise clinical need. Whilst this may seem harsh, particularly to those who may be feeling distressed, it is the safest mechanism with which to deliver care to the number and variety of people who come to the emergency department. As health care professionals we appreciate that what may be ‘normal’ for us, can be frightening and distressing for a person experiencing it, and we need to take the time to reduce fears and ensure we are meeting all our patient’s needs. We are very sorry if on this occasion we failed to provide adequate support to you at this distressing time and would welcome the opportunity to discuss this with you further if you would like to get in touch". Please also be assured that your story has been heard and shared with staff and we have used your experience to remind all staff of the importance of checking on, anticipating and considering patients needs, anxieties and fears. Please once again accept our sincere apologies

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