A woman who underwent an intimate examination by a hospital doctor using the torch from her iPhone following a miscarriage has received an apology. Amy Gosling, 29, described enduring an examination without lubrication and feeling deeply uncomfortable after presenting at A&E in excruciating pain.
Doctor's comments during examination
She says a doctor even asked her: "Are you going to be this stressed all the time?" and "Can't you smile?" after the examination. She said the doctor subsequently announced "good news, you're not pregnant" after a scan suggested she had likely lost her baby.
Amy shared details of her "horrific experience" in the hope that other women experiencing pregnancy loss will receive improved care and support.
Hospital visit details
She attended Warrington Hospital in Cheshire at the end of June after waking with severe pain, bleeding and clotting. Amy takes the contraceptive pill and does not typically have periods, leaving her immediately worried that something was gravely wrong. She was seen at the hospital's A&E department within several hours before a doctor from the gynaecology unit was summoned to examine her.
Amy said: "[The doctor] came and examined me and said to me, 'Can I use the torch on your phone to examine you?' There wasn't any proper equipment, so I was mortified by this. They also used no lubrication for the examination, and I kept being told, 'You need to stop being so stressed,' bearing in mind I'd just been told I'd most likely had a miscarriage."
Impact on Amy
Amy, who suffers from non-epileptic seizures, was informed she had most likely miscarried and that her seizures were being triggered by the pain and distress she was enduring. However, she revealed the doctor questioned her: "Are you going to be this stressed all the time?" and "Can't you smile?".
Amy explained that hospital staff initially wished to keep her in for observation to monitor the seizures, but she was subsequently told this was not feasible due to her history of seizures.
Amy's reaction
She said: "I was horrified by the entire experience, this was my first pregnancy at 29 years of age and I had lost the baby. I was given no support by the hospital or this doctor and felt like I was treated like less of a human and more of an inconvenience."
Amy returned to the hospital for a scan the following day, where she was advised she had most likely experienced either a chemical pregnancy or a miscarriage. She revealed the same doctor then entered the room and announced: "Good news, you're not pregnant".
Sharing her story
Amy said: "This devastated me as there was a big part of me that I hoped there would still be chance of life. In my head I was thinking imagine if losing your baby was the last straw and you're being spoken to like this? I am sharing my experience to share what women go through daily, baby loss is a sensitive topic and I would never want another woman to go through what I did and our voices should be heard. What I went through was horrific, but if my voice helps one woman feel heard then I've done my job."
Hospital apology
Warrington Hospital, which forms part of North Cheshire and Mersey NHS Foundation Trust, issued an apology to Amy and acknowledged her care had fallen short of the standard it aims to deliver.
Chief nurse Ali Kennah stated: "Our priority is always to provide the best care for our patients. While we can't comment on specific details due to patient confidentiality, I sincerely apologise to Ms Gosling that she did not receive the quality of care we strive to provide. We take all complaints seriously and have a robust process in place to review any concerns raised. We will communicate a detailed response directly to Ms Gosling and her family."
In the wake of her ordeal, Amy established a fundraiser for Tommy's, a pregnancy and baby charity which supports research into miscarriage.
