I left my job a few weeks back so sorry for the delay in responding. I am starting a new job in two weeks so I am looking forward to that and trying to focus on good things. My partner and I are back on track thank goodness even though I must confess I feel rather depressed but M (my partner) says you can't get post natal at such an early stage in pregnancy i seem to differ with his opinion.

He's been great though and sarah I understand completely where you are coming from if you and your partner are police officers! it drives me mad at times!!!!

I don't know if anyone else has experienced this type of thing but I thought I would share with you what I went through and I would like your views please as I feel mentally haunted by the whole experience and my faith in the NHS service is now gone completely.. Also a couple of questions I never got the answers to would be helpful if anyone knows what I mean.

I went to the hospital..

We waited in the A&E area for four hours before going to the early pregnancy assesment unit.

They then made us wait a further 1 hour for a wheelchair to put me but at this point I told them I would walk as I just wanted to get an answer as to what exactly was happening to me and I was bleeding a lot.

I then walked around quarter of a mile round the hospital to get to the unit.

We then sat there for a further four hours and then a couple turned up who were unemployed who lived in a caravan. The guy then questioned my fionce to say that he had arrested him (by fionce is a detective) a week before and was being rude and ignorant. Each time his girlfriend was sick he'd grimace and not comfort her, but mind you she wasn't much better, she was swearing generally really unpleasant and prying into how long I had been waiting. They had been there probably about twenty minutes. Then she went to get a water and the boyfriend (or whatever you would have called him) said "I wonder if she falls she'll get seen first?" I then replied (ANGERED as you can well imagine) "I hope your not intending to do that before I get seen as I have been here for hours?" He then laughed and thank fully (or so I thought) our name was called to see the doctor (the bleeding was so bad now that it had gone through my jeans and I was doubled in pain.

The doctor then stopped us in our tracks (in broken english as she was chinese she said "have to see nother patient she has just falled down" I was beside myself at this point and I must confess I think I swore at her at this point.

She ignored us then marched them into the room whilst we were still outside the room! I began crying out loud and my partner was rather upset too.

When finally I was seen by the broken english speaking doctor she gave me an internal to try to establish what was wrong (well I can only imagine this is what she did because her english was so poor) she then drew the curtain (so I thought she was giving me some dignity whilst doing this procedure) but OH NO, a junior MALE nurse walks in to the room (unannounced / no knock) walked through the curtain whilst she was examining me, with a cervical screening tool then he was chatting away to her regarding another case in chinese and she was happy to talk back to him whilst she had the screening tool hanging over my face with big blood clots (some of which dripped onto my body) which in theory was my dead baby She then told me "dress" so I got dressed and had to clear myself up and the bed because there was all of my blood on it (not a nice experience to clear up after my dead child was coming out of me) and then I had to sit down with her again while she spoke in broken english to me. She then gave me a blood test and as the needle went in the MALE junior Nurse walked back in and banged so hard against my chair that the needle nearly broke.. At this point I was utterly beside myself and just wanted a scan to see exactly what had / has happened. She then informed me "no scan not enough time given to give scan today come tomorrow book apopintment" I was in pieces at this point!!! So we did book an appointment to go back the next day.

So I went to see an ENGLISH nurse that was a slight relief who said there didn't look like there was a baby there as the middle line in my womb was too thin but as I was not even really six weeks she could not be certain so she asked if the doctor had given me a blood test. I informed her that I had and she went to get the results (But blow and behold) she had sent it to the wrong lab so they gave me test results for diabetes in stead of my hormone levels so I still wasn't sure if I had actually lost my baby, she then gave me a blood test and said I would have to go have another one in two days to establish the levels of hormones from one day to the next to see if they were falling So I booked another appointment at the hospital.

We went home and prepared ourselves for the following morning.

I then get a phone call in the morning "hello Ms L and Mr S no baby in you blood level came out under two baby all gone ok" and the phone went down I COULD NOT believe it! No explanation I still how no idea what it means that my levels were under two ???

I pay my taxes and so does my husband to be I am sorry to sound heartless and faithless but how is that the non tax payers seem to get a better ride than us and wer'e the one's paying for them!!! It annoyed me so much and just the whole situation has haunted me since!!! I can't even go near my partner.

All help would be appreciated
Has anyone else experienced this.

Nin xx

I have recently experienced a similar experience, I have since wrote to the hospital expecting a full investigation and its all too easy for them to sweep it under the carpet. Here is what happened

6 November 6.30pm Spoke with my GP due to bleeding and was advised to go to
A & E for a scan. GP sent fax letter to A & E office to confirm my condition.
7.30pm Arrived at A & E.
7.45pm Seen by duty nurse in corridor of waiting room to assess my case, informed nurse I was pregnant and needed attention urgently.
8.10pm Taken through to A & E ward and placed on a bed.
9.00pm Examined by a doctor and advised that the neck of my womb was still closed. Advised by the doctor that it would be best that I was admitted overnight so that I could have a scan first thing in the morning between 8.30 9am as no one available to perform scan in the evening and if I went home I would have to wait days to get a appointment.
Around 10.30pm a blood sample was taken, I was then transferred to CDU for the night without the offer of any water or food.

7 November I would like to note that during the night in CDU the only exchange
words were when I asked for some water and asked for my light to be turned off. Not one person asked how I was feeling or checked to see if I was bleeding.
6.00am told a nurse that I was bleeding, she asked was it a lot, I replied no but it was red, she gave me a sanitary towel.
8.00am told another nurse who had just come on duty that I was bleeding; I also asked when I was having my scan? She tried to call someone but I received no feedback from her. The nurse that came on duty at 8am called for additional help as she was by herself, two student nurses came to help and made tea and toast for the ward.
8.30am advised a student nurse that I was still bleeding received no feedback again
9.30am my husband arrived and asked another nurse who had started her shift I advised the nurse that I was bleeding, that I still hadnt had my scan and if something wasnt done soon we would leave and go somewhere else for help. The nurse tried to contact a doctor but still no reply as they were all in an Audit meeting, the nurse discovered that my notes from the previous night regarding my scan had been sent to level 5 instead of level 7, instead of waiting for the notes to get back to her, the nurse went and collected and took to the correct team on the 7th floor. The nurse enquired on when my scan would be done and was informed they were busy due to audit and would get back to her.
11.00am Went to go to the toilet again and at that point discovered the bed was covered in blood, called the nurse as I need help to the toilet it was obvious at this point that I was starting to have a miscarriage.
11.15am my husband insisted that we see someone senior as the situation was now well out of hand.
12-12:20 Examined by a doctor who was unable to perform full examination due to heavy bleeding. Put on a drip.
2pm Heart rate dropped and rushed to resuscitation
2:20pm Examined by another doctor and put on additional drip and doctor requested two packs of blood be made ready in case blood transfusion was required.
3.30pm Transferred to another ward still bleeding heavily.
Advised by a doctor that it was not necessry to have a scan I would need a D&C which should be scheduled for 5.30pm. Advised at 6.30pm by another consultant there was an emergency which clearly had priority but was told hopefully the operation would take place during the evening sometime. At 10.20pm I was taken down to theatre, I remember waking up at 11.05pm and hearing the anaesthesias saying that I shouldnt have been left that long as my haemoglobin had dropped to 6 (when I arrived at hospital it was 14). At 12.45am I was given a blood transfusion and again at 4.30am

8 November Consultant came to see me in the morning and
advised that I would be staying in hospital for another night as I had lost a lot of blood and it may be necessary for another blood transfusion. I told the consultant that I was absolutely exhausted as I hadnt slept properly for 2 days and that it was too noisy in the ward, he advised me that I would be sent to my own room so I could get some rest. Nurse took another blood sample to check my haemoglobin level.

Later in the afternoon to my utter amazement a nurse asked me was I sure I needed a room to sleep as another patient also needed the room, the consultant had already advised a nurse to prepare the room for me due to my condition.

9 November Consultant came to see me, asked what my haemoglobin level was;he was advised by a nurse that it was 10. Consultant commented on how pail I still looked but it was ok to go home. I was discharged at 10am with a discharge letter for my GP, a box of Codeine and a box of Paracetamol.

The time I spent at this Hospital was absolutely horrendous, especially the time spent in the CDU Ward. That ward may have been understaffed but it doesnt excuse the fact that NOBODY came to see me offering any fluids and did not address my concerns the following morning when I first advised at 6am that I was bleeding until circumstances obviously got out of hand towards midday. I expect a full investigation and explanation as to why this happened.

Nin your right the NHS is a disgrace.
Lou
x

I had a similar experience. I had been given a viability scan at 5-6 weeks and was called back at 9 weeks as the previous scan hadn't been able to tell much. I turned up at my appointment time (having drank lots of water as requested) I had waited about 30 minutes and was bursting for the loo when an unemployed teenage pregnant girl turned up with a scruffy older woman who was probably her Mum. Her appointment it transpired was half an hour after mine and I was just thinking that she would have a long wait when they called her in!! I was then flabberghasted even further when it transpired that she hadn't drunk any water so there was a further delay whilst they brought her drinks and then eventually scanned her. When it was eventually my turn I was so deperate for the loo that I could hardly focus on what was going on. I was told that the baby was dead and was put in a room where I was told someone would come and speak to me. After about an hour, nobody had turned up and my husband went to find out what was going on - it turned out that they had forgotten about us. Charming.

We are both well-paid professionals who pay a lot in tax in NI and this is how we are treated!!

I have heard so many horror storied about NHS hospitals that if we successfully get pregnant this time we are considering going private.

Our local Birth Centre does viability scans for £95.

i am so sorry to hear how you were treated
i lost my first pregnancy a month ago and on the day i found out i went to the docters, she was really great, she told me she wanted to book me into the early pregnancy unit straight away because at six weeks the test that she had done should have been very clear ( it was weak) but when i got to the unit i had to wait over an hour for an internal then had to have another one because my bladder had been to full, when i came out i had to wait another hour to see a very rude male doctor who didnt understand that i wanted to hear the news in simple terms not medicel terms because my brain just wasnt working and when i got upset because i had lost it he proceeded to say " but at least it wasnt planned" like that makes a difference it was still bloody wanted, i agree with the lady that say's to them we are numbers, people they have to get threw before they can go home

Hi,

First of all I am so sorry that you lost your baby and that you suffered such a horrible experience. Mine was no where near as bad but last week I had my miscarriage confirmed and was so upset by the way I was treated.

Went to docs because of bleeding and she was really nice and said that there could be a chance that everything was ok. I thought otherwise but at least had a little bit of hope. She called the EPU and they could only fit me in the next day. I was told to go with a full bladder so they could do a scan. I went with a full bladder and I mean full, I was left waiting for over 30mins and was pacing the corridor because I was going to burst. The annoying thing was they were not that busy and I could hear them having general chats in the room. Eventually I was taken in for a scan, no questions of what had happened (I had kept a diary of everything that had happened since my first pos test). All I was asked is if I was still bleeding which I wasn,t. The woman said she was sorry but I had miscarried.

She then said that I would be taken to the ward to speak to someone. I then went to the toilet and walked into the reception area. A midwife called me over to the desk and asked why the GP had sent me, I was a little confused by her question. I told her because I had been losing blood. She then said that everything was coming away on it's own and had I done any pregnancy tests since the bleeding. I said yes two and they were both positive which is why I had gone to my GP.

She then said everything appears to be happening on its own and so basically no follow up required. This discussion took place in a waiting area where other people were. I had a lump in my throat and could not believe that she was not even bothered to discuss this in private. She then said I would leave it a couple of months before trying again, I just looked at her said right ok and walked out. Once I got to my car I had a good cry.

I have had miscarriages before I had my son (now 28mths) and I was never treated as cold as this time. I really felt like I was wasting there time and should have known that I was miscarring fine and did not need an appointment with them.

I find my experience most upsetting and can not begin to imagine how hard yours was. I am very sorry and hope that you are able to put it behind you in the future although you will never forget it.

I just finished reading your post, at the end I realised that my jaw was almost on the floor and my eyes were bulging with disgust. I'm so sorry that you had this horrible experience.

My epu wernt great when I miscarried just over 3 weeks ago. Unfortunately I've noticed that when it comes to miscarriage we all to often become a number, one of many women they see every day, the emotional support and sensitivity that you need and deserve at this time seems to go out of the window, you may as well be having a root canal.

I'm not sure where I'd begin in relation to complaining, it may be worth writing to your local health authority. I know it wont help you, it's too late for them to ammend what they did but it might help prevent anything like this happening again, and at the very least you can voice what you've told us to the relevant people.

In relation to your levels, what she meant was that for your pregnancy to be ongoing the hormone level in your blood should be hitting levels in the 1000's, because you lost your baby your hormone levels were very low, mine was only 40 when they checked my blood.

I'm really sorry you went throught this, unfortunatly there are and always will be people in our society who know how to play the game to their advantage often to the detriment of others. I also understand what you mean about your husband being recognised from work, my partner and I are both police officers, it happens regularly, it's a major disadvantage, especially during the most sensitive of experiences such as this.

I wish you lots of love and luck, I hope this experience does not haunt you forever you deserve so much better and in this day in age, you should be able to expect it.

Love

Sarah. xx

I left my job a few weeks back so sorry for the delay in responding. I am starting a new job in two weeks so I am looking forward to that and trying to focus on good things. My partner and I are back on track thank goodness even though I must confess I feel rather depressed but M (my partner) says you can't get post natal at such an early stage in pregnancy i seem to differ with his opinion.

He's been great though and sarah I understand completely where you are coming from if you and your partner are police officers! it drives me mad at times!!!!