Woman loses baby after waiting ‘hours’ to be seen in hospital
An Auckland couple say they believe waiting hours to be seen at a hospital may have resulted in them losing their baby.
The couple, who do not wish to be named, went to Waita¯kere Hospital onmonday after the woman, 18 weeks pregnant, began experiencing pains.
They said they were not seen for several hours until the mother began bleeding heavily, at which point they were transferred to another hospital, and it was confirmed she was suffering a miscarriage.
Waitemata¯ District Health Board said it was offering support to the mother and her family, but no hospital intervention could have saved her baby.
The woman said the pain began during the night and was in her back and lower abdominal areas.
She had spoken to hermidwife and thought it was just a urine infection, but decided to head to the hospital around 11am to get checked.
While in the waiting room, the woman went to the toilet and noticed spotting.
Once they got to a bed, the woman began asking for her cervix to be checked as she felt it was opening. But for at least three hours, the woman was not checked, the couple said.
The woman’s husband told Stuff they asked over and over again for her cervix to be checked, but they were continuously told no doctors were available as they were tending to patients of a ‘‘higher priority’’.
‘‘If they would have checked, I feel that baby could have been saved,’’ the woman said.
Around 3.30pm, the woman experienced a large gush of blood and medical staff came running. They were sent to North Shore Hospital by ambulance.
Once they arrived, the woman was checked and told it was highly unlikely the baby could be saved.
She completed themiscarriage later that evening.
Having experienced two miscarriages in the past, the woman said she knew what was happening once she started bleeding and pushed to be checked to no avail.
The couple planned to lay a complaint with Waitemata¯ District Health Board.
‘‘When I am raising the alarm to them, why didn’t they run to me? I am raising the alarm, I am genuinely telling them ‘check my cervix, this has happened in the past, I have experienced this in the past, check my cervix’,’’ the woman said.
‘‘If they had of checked earlier, I believe there could have been a slight chance, even a 1 per cent chance, of fixing things.’’
Waitemata¯ District Health Board did not directly respond to why the woman wasn’t seen quicker, given how many times she said she’d expressed concern.
The DHB also didn’t say why she wasn’t sent to North Shore Hospital earlier if Waita¯kere Hospital staff couldn’t help.
A spokeswoman for the DHB said it had explained to the woman that no matter if care had been provided earlier, no hospital intervention could have prevented her miscarriage.
‘‘The loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy is devastating, and we extend our deepest condolences to the patient and her wha¯nau,’’ the spokeswoman said.
‘‘We will continue to support her and her wha¯nau as they come to terms with their loss and will directly answer any further questions they have.’’