Woman miscarries in Geelong hospital emergency department public bathroom

A woman who miscarried in the public toilets at Geelong hospital’s emergency department says she’s been left traumatised by the neglect and “complete mistreatment” she suffered that night.

A Lara woman has been left traumatised by her experience at Geelong hospital.

A traumatised woman who was left to miscarry in a public bathroom at Geelong hospital’s emergency department waiting area has accused Barwon Health of “complete mistreatment” and neglect.

Jane (not her real name) has shared harrowing details of that night, saying she could not get the help she needed when she arrived, despite the pleas of the friend who was with her.

She also told of having to walk across the waiting room shocked and covered in blood after the miscarriage and then spending hours waiting to be seen by a doctor, still attached to the foetus despite repeatedly asking for the umbilical cord to please be cut.

She said she was left in the hands of junior staff who had no idea what to do, turning an already traumatic experience into a nightmare.

Barwon Health said it had contacted Jane to offer an apology for the level of care and had launched a comprehensive expert review into the incident, determined to stop it happening ever again.

Jane, from Lara, was 13 weeks’ pregnant when she had cramping and light bleeding on January 13.

She went to the emergency department, arriving about 10pm, and told staff her water had already broken and she had been bleeding in the car.

Jane said a triage nurse told her staff would do everything to make her comfortable.

But things “just got worse”. She said staff failed to find her a bed, and she was in the waiting room for more than half an hour, during which time she was taken for a blood test.

Jane said she told staff she was in pain and her friend asked multiple times for her to be seen and given a gown.

After intense cramping in the waiting room she went to the bathroom where she miscarried, with her friend desperately trying to help her.

Jane said eventually a nurse came to their aid, but she was then forced to walk through the waiting room in front of other patients while “distraught” and covered in blood.

She said she was placed in a consultation room for more than two hours with the foetus still attached by its umbilical cord before a doctor attended.

“I asked nurses multiple times to call someone or to cut the cord as this was furthering my trauma and I was frozen for hours, too scared to move,” she said.

It was only after she began haemorrhaging that a young doctor attended, she said.

Jane alleged the doctor would not cut the umbilical cord when she asked him to.

About three hours after arriving at the hospital, she said the specialist team was called and Jane was transferred into their care.

The cord was then cut and she could hold her baby, she said.

“Geelong emergency has caused so much stress and trauma as they allocated junior staff to my very sensitive case and no one knew what to do,” she said.

Barwon Health has launched a review following the incident. Picture: Alan Barber

Jane said Barwon Health must be held accountable to stop this happening to another woman.

The mother of two young children said she was exploring legal avenues and had lodged a complaint with Barwon Health.

She left the hospital about 6am on January 14 and returned that evening as she required a procedure to remove tissue from inside her uterus.

Jane said this furthered her trauma.

Barwon Health’s chief medical officer Ajai Verma said occupancy and ED activity was not a factor in Jane’s treatment or triage process.

Dr Verma said the patient’s experience in the ED was not in accordance with the level of care the organisation aimed to provide.

“Our ED director has contacted the patient and her family to sincerely apologise about the way her care was approached,” Dr Verma said.

“Barwon Health is deeply concerned about this patient’s experience and we have started a thorough review into all aspects of her care, including her interactions with staff members.

“This review will include input from maternity and emergency specialists, safety and quality representatives, and an independent expert from the Royal Women’s Hospital.

“We’re determined to prevent this experience from happening again.”

Jane said she was now taking life day by day, but sometimes she just fell in a heap.

“I’m trying to find normal again,” she said.

Originally published as Woman miscarries in Geelong hospital emergency department public bathroom