"People going through miscarriage deserve dignity, sympathy and privacy"

After I started to bleed I was advised to go to my nearest A&E which was Leeds General Infirmary. The care I received there was fantastic. We weren’t waiting very long at all. They gave me a full assessment, booked me in for a scan at the EPU at Jimmy’s for the next day and told me to go home and rest. If I started to bleed severely I was told that I had to go straight to nearest hospital.

Within minutes of arriving at home, I started to suffer from cramps and bleed very severely and so I was taken to my nearest hospital Pinderfields. On arriving at Pinderfields, I was left in a corridor with a lady having a fit next to me and a prisoner handcuffed to his chair at the other side of me. As I was bleeding really heavily, I was placed in a wheelchair by the ambulance staff but no nurse or hospital staff came to see me. I was inconsolable as I knew I was losing our baby and yet me and my partner were left with no privacy of a cubicle or room. We were just left in the corridor. Eventually we were moved to a curtained area but one which the public could look into. (It only had curtains at the side). At no time was I offered any sanitary products or anything for the pain.

A nurse came to see us and I was asked to do a urine sample and was given a bowl to provide the sample in. I did explain to the nurse that it was possible it would just be blood in the sample. I was asked to use the unisex toilet just off of the corridor. The only way I can describe this is I gave birth to our baby into the bowl. This was very distressing for both me and my partner and something which I will never forget. To make matters worse we were left for some time with the bowl containing our baby. Eventually a nurse came and took the bowl from my partner without saying anything. She just walked off. She came back a while later and told us that I needed to see a doctor. All the time we were just left with no privacy.

We were moved from curtained cubicle to what I can only describe as a waiting room and eventually, after hours of being at Pinderfields, we were moved back to curtained cubicle (but one which belonged to another patient who was having a x-ray). We saw a doctor. She handed me a cocodamol and a paracetamol and told me to go home and that she could book me in for a scan for 3 days’ time. As I had a scan booked by Leeds for the following day I told her not to book me in.

The care I received at the EPU at Jimmy’s was fantastic. They were very caring and professional at the most difficult time in my life. They confirmed that I had had a complete miscarriage.

We still don’t know to this day what Pinderfields have done with our baby and that for me is the hardest thing. I just hope they learn and treat people who are going through this with the dignity, sympathy and privacy that they deserve.