Failure to provide support and appropriate care: Mrs C's story
The complaint
Mrs C complained that Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust did not give her proper care in 2021.
When she was just under five months pregnant, she went to the Trust’s emergency department because she was having cramps. Staff told her a gynaecologist (a doctor who looks at reproductive health, including early pregnancy problems) would come to see her. She waited hours but nobody saw her or moved her to a bed or room. She then had a miscarriage in the toilet.
She said that this affected her employment, personal relationships and housing.
What we found
The Trust did not give Mrs C a gynaecology review when she arrived at the emergency department. If it had done this on time, staff would have identified a possible miscarriage and could have prepared Mrs C and supported her.
Because Mrs C was not examined or told what was happening, it left a question in her mind about whether the miscarriage could have been avoided. The Trust missed an opportunity to fully prepare Mrs C for the death of her baby.
The Trust could not have stopped the miscarriage and it did not happen because of a failing in its care. But the experience had a long-term, negative effect on Mrs C.
Putting things right
We could see the Trust took Mrs C’s complaint seriously and recognised it made mistakes in the service it provided. But we did not think it had done enough to put right how its mistakes had affected Mrs C.
We said the Trust should pay Mrs C compensation for how its failings affected her.