Poor communication with patient during premature birth

What happened

In summer 2013, Mrs E was pregnant and she had a cervical suture because she had a history of miscarriage. The procedure can help an expectant mother avoid a miscarriage. Trust staff had no concerns at Mrs E's follow–up appointment at 17 weeks and the plan was to review her at 28 weeks. However, in autumn 2013, when Mrs E was just over 22 weeks pregnant, she went into the Trust's maternity assessment unit with abdominal pain and back ache. Staff examined her and found she was in labour. She was transferred to the labour ward, where staff removed the cervical suture. The consultant obstetrician decided to examine Mrs E. During the examination, Mrs E's membranes ruptured and a baby boy was quickly delivered. Doctors decided not to resuscitate the baby and he died shortly after birth.

What we found

We partly upheld this complaint. There were no failings regarding the clinical care given to Mrs E. However, there were failings in the doctors' communication with Mrs E because they did not make sure that she understood what was happening or what was going to happen. This led to uncertainty and stress for Mrs E during a very traumatic experience.

Putting it right

The Trust wrote to Mrs E to apologise and paid her £500 in recognition of the impact that its lack of communication had had on her.