I attended a/e with bleeding several weeks ago. I was quickly referred to the EDU. Having waited over 3 hours there I was then met by a junior doctor who told me I needed a scan. Alas- whittington don't do scans at the weekend. It's shocking that Whittington fail to realise that women are pregnant 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. Needless to say your junior doctor was totally useless at answering my questions. They couldn't advise where I could get a scan and had no advice about what I could do in the interim.
I was told to attend the EDU the next day where I could have a scan. The following day I returned and waited over 3 hours for a scan. More waiting around in what can only be described a distressing situation.
I was then told id need to return 14 days later for a follow up scan & to come home & hope the bleeding settled. My gp was shocked that I was told to wait this long. Apparently standard procedure is 7 days. Clearly not at Whittington.
14 days later I returned to the unit for a follow up scan and was informed I had a delayed miscarraige. Two nurses carried out the scan. We decided a d&c was needed and I was told a slot was available on Wednesday morning (48 hours later) What followed next was shocking. I had to wait for a doctor to "confirm" everything and discuss next steps. 3 hours later I was eventually seen by a doctor. 3 hours is an incredibly long time to wait when you have been giving devastating news. It seems so inhumane and cruel. What made it worse was the reassurances from the nursing team that we were "next" to be seen. We were "next " on that list for over 2 hours. Eventually another junior doctor came in, went through the procedure and I left thinking my surgery was Wednesday.
At 3pm the day before my surgery (Tuesday) I had missed calls from a withheld number. No voicemail. No call back. (I'm not a mind reader!)Eventually I managed to answer the phone. Junior doctor told me they'd been trying to reach me all morning. (I had 2 missed calls they obviously hasn't tried that hard) I was informed the surgery was over subscribed and my surgery was being rescheduled for the following Monday. What a joke. 7 days after my diagnosis whittington would finally bother to do anything about it. At this stage I had been bleeding for over 3 weeks. Whittington expected me to sit at home. Bleeding. With a dead baby inside me. For another week. Alternatively I could contact other hospitals and see what they could do.
I am absolutely appalled by my trratment from this hospital. 1 in 5 women end up with miscarriages so unfortunately this is a common enough problem that Whittington faces. I will never ever return to this hospital. My experiences there have awful.
"Miscarraige mismanagement"
About: The Whittington Hospital The Whittington Hospital London N19 5NF
Posted via nhs.uk
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