NUH apologises for leaving expectant woman unattended for 2 hours
SINGAPORE — The National University Hospital (NUH) has apologised on Thursday (24 March) for an incident in its emergency department (ED) last week, when an expectant woman was left unattended for two hours and lost her child.
In a post on its Facebook page, NUH also said it will review the process of managing expectant patients who are admitted into ED when its labour ward is full, so that such incidents do not happen again.
"We are deeply saddened by the family’s loss and will continue to provide care and support to them during this difficult period," the hospital said in its post.
Husband recounted ordeal on Facebook page
The 36-week pregnant woman's ordeal had been recounted on social media by her husband, who goes by the name of "Mee Pok Tah" on his Facebook page.
He had written that his wife was admitted into NUH on 15 March for bleeding, and after the initial triage at the ED, she was left unattended for two hours before being sent to a labour ward.
The husband wrote that after entering the ward, doctors informed the couple that the unborn baby was lost.
"Isn’t losing excessive blood a life threatening situation to a person who is not pregnant, let alone a pregnant lady?" the husband wrote. "This is a really unfortunate incident and I can’t stop thinking could my baby be saved if only we were attended to promptly."
ED experiencing high patient load: NUH
NUH said in its Facebook post on Thursday that the expectant woman was attended to immediately upon arrival at ED, and was noted to be stable. Her bleeding had subsided en route to the hospital, he vital signs were within normal parameters, and she was experiencing mild pain - two out of 10 on the pain score when assessed by nurses.
The hospital added that its ED was experiencing high patient load then, and the woman was placed next to the nursing station for closer visual monitoring. As she was in early labour, arrangement was made to transfer her to the labour ward as soon as possible, which was full at that time.
When she was finally taken to the labour ward after two hours, she was immediately attended to by a team led by two senior consultants. According to NUH, she suffered a "rare and unpredictable" pregnancy complication, as an ultrasound scan showed the absence of a fetal heartbeat, caused by placental abruption.
"She waited for two hours and this should not have been the case in this circumstance, and we are sorry," NUH said in its Facebook post. "During this time, we should have done more to provide closer monitoring and care, as well as to update the patient of her condition and the transfer."
Challenging amid COVID-19 outbreak: NUH
NUH said that it has been challenging to maintain its high standards for care amid the current COVID-19 outbreak, given the high number of patients being admitted for both emergent COVID-19 and non-COVID clinical conditions.
"Currently, all COVID-19 positive pregnant women over 36 weeks are admitted to the three public hospitals for care and delivery. Despite this added workload, we have a duty of care towards our patients," it said in its Facebook post.
"On the night of the incident, NUH was managing three other expectant patients with COVID-19 in the ED and labour ward. The hospital staff in both the ED and labour wards were kept very busy having to manage all these urgent cases."
NUH said it met with the family on Wednesday, with its clinical and nursing leads.
"(We) appreciate the opportunity to address their concerns directly. We will do our best to support them and ensure the patient’s well-being," it said.
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