Failure to offer support and follow-up appointments after miscarriage
The complaint
Ms U complained about the care and treatment Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust gave her in 2019. She said it had a negative effect on her mental health.
She said she phoned the Early Pregnancy Unit and told them she was suffering pain and bleeding and thought she was having a miscarriage. A few days later she told them she had miscarried.
She said the healthcare support worker she spoke to did not show compassion, offer advice, arrange follow-up care, or cancel letters about pregnancy.
She also complained about how the Trust handled her complaint.
She wanted the Trust to improve its service to avoid making the effects of miscarriage worse for other women. She also wanted compensation.
What we found
Guidance says healthcare professionals must treat people with early pregnancy complications with dignity and respect. It says they must give information and support in a sensitive way and should have training on how to do this.
The Trust did not discuss pregnancy complications and miscarriage sensitively with Ms U during either phone call.
The healthcare support worker who spoke to Ms U was new. They apologised and said they would learn from the experience, but that was not enough to put things right.
Guidance says the Trust should arrange physical and mental health assessments after miscarriage and offer counselling if needed. It did not offer follow-up appointments after Ms U miscarried.
Because of this, the Trust missed more than one opportunity to assess and treat Ms U’s mental health. This added to her distress.
The Trust investigated what happened, but it delayed sending its final response to Ms U and did not update her when it said it would. It apologised for this.
Putting things right
We said the Trust should look at its training and monitoring for new Early Pregnancy Unit staff, to see if it gives them knowledge and skills to discuss problems sensitively with patients.
We also said the Trust should make an action plan explaining why it failed and how it will make sure no other patient has the same experience.
We recommended the Trust pay Ms U compensation for how its failings affected her.