Patient suffering miscarriage was kept in A&E

What happened

Ms E was 20 weeks pregnant when she attended A&E with severe abdominal pain. Staff did not give her adequate pain relief or escalate her situation to any senior staff over the next two hours.

By the time Trust staff took Ms E to the maternity unit, she had already suffered a miscarriage. Ms E acknowledged that this could not have been prevented, but said she was distressed by her poor treatment. She felt staff should have done more to make her comfortable.

What we found

Ms E's care and treatment was poor. Staff should have taken further observations and responded to her pain. Doctors were busy with an emergency but nevertheless, staff should have escalated the situation.

The Trust acknowledged its failings and said it had addressed these matters with the staff involved and had improved its policy for the treatment of pregnant women arriving in A&E.

Putting it right

The Trust spoke to the nurse about undertaking further physiological observations, evaluating Ms E's pain relief, and how she responded to Ms E's bleeding. It also apologised to Ms E.