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"I felt as though i wasn't being taken seriously"

About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) NHS Lothian St John's Hospital / Gynaecology

(as the patient),

Recently, I phoned NHS 24. I was 10 weeks pregnant and had started bleeding. I was told to take paracetamol and rest. I was still bleeding on Monday, and made an emergency appointment with my gp.

My GP said I should have been referred to the early pregnancy unit, and contacted them on my behalf. They said I had to wait until the following day to be seen!

On the Monday afternoon, I had a massive bleed and almost lost consciousness, so phoned the early pregnancy unit, where I was made to feel like a paranoid pregnant woman.

My partner rushed me to the unit, where they found me saturated in blood, in severe pain and terrified. I was finally taken seriously, but by then I knew my baby hadn't stood a chance.

After controlling my bleeding and monitoring me, I was released.

The next day, I had to return for my scan, which revealed the obvious. I had lost my child. It was then I saw the poster on the wall about the "Prism Study", where women are given extra pregnancy hormones at the onset of bleeding. It was a study to see if this would help stop a miscarriage from occurring! I understand that it might not work, but I wasn't even considered.

I felt as though I wasn't being taken seriously, and as a result, feel as though my baby and I were failed.

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 8 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24
Submitted on 16/02/2016 at 10:18
Published on Care Opinion at 10:50


picture of Shona Lawrence

Dear Fobbed off

Thank you for sharing your story on Patient Opinion. I would firstly like to say how sorry I was to learn that you had lost your baby. I appreciate that this will have been a very difficult time for you and for your family.

My response relates to your contact with NHS 24, which I am keen to explore more fully. If you would be kind enough to contact me with some additional detail then we could review your call to establish if there is anything we could have done differently. I note your call resulted in you being given self care advice in the form of pain relief and rest.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on 0141 337 4582 or by email at patientaffairs@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk should you wish us to review your call to NHS 24. We would be happy to have the opportunity to do so.

I do wish you and your partner well.

With kind regards

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manager

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Response from Jeannette Morrison, Head of Patient Experience, NHS Lothian 8 years ago
Jeannette Morrison
Head of Patient Experience,
NHS Lothian
Submitted on 16/02/2016 at 12:47
Published on Care Opinion at 14:50


Dear Fobbed off

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us and like Shona, please can l say how sorry l was to read of your experiences and can I pass on my condolences to you and your partner at this time.

I have spoken with the Chief Midwife and we would like to offer to meet with you to discuss what happened. I would be grateful if you can please contact me at the Patient Experience Team by email (feedback@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk) or telephone (0131 536 3370) and look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Jeannette

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