I am currently 8w pregnant with my second child. So far this pregnancy has not been easy and I’ve experienced a number of concerning symptoms such as bleeding, spotting and cramping. After phoning numerous times and only able to get through on the fourth and fifth time. I was told I had to be referred to the unit.
I got a referral note from my doctor who said EPU opened at 9am. I went the next day arriving at 8.45. I was in a great deal of pain and thought that arriving early would give a greater chance of being seen sooner. I could not have been more wrong!
Little did I know there were already 9 people ahead in the queue. I had to pick up a numbered card which the receptionist would call to register me. Registration took 1.15 mins! I was astounded at how long it took her to simply complete registration. I went to EPU at St Thomas’s hospital in Westminster with my first pregnancy and registration took under 20 minutes. I cannot believe the difference!
The EPU works on a first come first serve basis. There is no prioritisation or triage process. This again was surprising as some patients may need more urgent care than others. I was sat next to someone, ahead of me in the queue, who told me they didn’t have any worrying symptoms, they just wanted reassurance. There is no judgment from me on their reason for attending. However I meanwhile, was in pain, cramping, bleeding and faced having a miscarriage. Surely some form of priority list is needed here?
After registration, it then took another 2.5 hours for a nurse to see me. The nurse advised me to go home and monitor the bleeding and only come back if I was soaking 2 pads in an hour. She said if I was still bleeding in a week to come back and they would scan me. I waited nearly 3.5 hours to sent home without any proper medical check! The nurse did not care that I’d been waiting ages, was in pain and was extremely anxious. All the empathy and help she could extend was that miscarriages happen and there’s nothing they can do to prevent them. I knew this. I just wanted to know if I had miscarried so I could stop living in anxiety. I know nurses must see patients like me everyday so maybe they become desensitised. But for the patient going though a potential miscarriage it’s a really stressful time and a little empathy would have gone a long way, especially given how long the wait was.
My treatment at EPU made me even more anxious and stressed than when I arrived and it has totally put me off seeking care there again. I now have a paid private scan booked as I can’t go through the painful waiting process and uncertainty of knowing. I also believe I’ll get a better calibre of care privately too. If the pregnancy continues then I’ll be moving my care permanently back to St Thomas’s, who have much higher quality and quicker processes and standards.
If anyone is going through early pregnancy issues then do yourselves a favour: go privately or attend another NHS hospital.
"Early Pregnancy Unit - Shambles"
About: Queen Elizabeth Hospital / Maternity Queen Elizabeth Hospital Maternity SE18 4QH
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