Trust apologised for my miscarriage hell

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Lena Bayfield, who suffered a miscarriage at the William Harvey Hospital, is critical of the care she received by medical staff. Right, her letter of apology from the ambulance service A health trust has apologised to a woman who was told to walk from A&E to a delivery room on the other side of the hospital while suffering a miscarriage.

Lena Bayfield, 32, from Singleton, was admitted to the William Harvey Hospital in September, after suffering severe abdominal pain.

She believes that doctors and midwives should have known she was at a greater risk of having a miscarriage because she suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Women affected by the condition have higher levels of androgens (male hormones), which can cause difficulty getting pregnant and increase the risk of miscarriages.

The condition also meant Ms Bayfield has an incompetent cervix, causing her waters to break early during her pregnancy and leaving her with severe pains requiring visits to hospital.

Ms Bayfield said: “The pain was so severe that I would end up at A&E, I was bleeding and in pain. Staff checked my baby and she was healthy, but I wasn’t checked internally. They believed that because my baby was normal I was normal.

“They were aware of my condition, but I wasn’t referred to a consultant. If I was diabetic or had HIV it would be scandalous, but my condition is no different from someone seriously ill.”

She was sent a letter about seeing a specialist consultant when she reached 20 weeks in her pregnancy, but tragically she suffered the miscarriage just days before the appoint-