'Foetus misdiagnosis'

littlefriend

Can you believe this story? Incredible.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0608/redmondm.html

The Health Service Executive has set up a helpline after a pregnant woman was given a misdiagnosis at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda that could have resulted in the death of her baby.

Melissa Redmond was told that her foetus was dead when in fact it was alive.

Mrs Redmond was given an abortive drug but decided to seek a second opinion that found no problem with her pregnancy.

Daemos

Was just listening to it in the background, shocking stuff. Thank God the mother wanted a second opinion.

mink_man

i didnt watch the video..too lazy..

bonerm

littlefriend wrote: »

Can you believe this story?

HSE was in the first sentence, so yes.

Honestly, they are the enemy within.

Archeron

This thread title could be a college motto.

Shocking stuff though.

Novella

Fucking hell, that is unreal. :eek:

Sea Sharp

Crazy stuff altogether.

littlefriend

Archeron wrote: »

This thread title could be a college motto.

Shocking stuff though.

Yeah sorry, I couldn't think of a title so I took it from the article.

"Recommendations included training junior doctors in the 'correct methodology of scanning for early pregnancy' and a consultant is engaged in a process of verification with all junior doctors involved in scanning to ensure their competency."

Its quite worrying that that wasn't already the procedure.

Anna Molly

Jesus Christ, the Health System here just keeps on getting better!!!

storm2811

Woah:eek:

Imagine telling the kid that story when they grow up!

Abi

That place is always in trouble. Sure isn't it the same hospital that was giving out free hysterectomies with every C-Section? :rolleyes:

Medievalist

I'm kind of curious about the 'abortive drug' (and completely disinterested in the abortion debate). Was it actually administered to the mother in the hospital or was it just handed to her and she got a second opinion before taking it? I would imagine a (fully qualified) doctor would have to be pretty damn sure the foetus was actually dead before prescribing something 'abortive'. Either way, they're all very lucky the child survived.

Hannibal Smith

Abigayle wrote: »

That place is always in trouble. Sure isn't it the same hospital that was giving out free hysterectomies with every C-Section? :rolleyes:

I was just thinking the same! What kind of idiots are they employing there!

Wolfe Tone

In before the abortion debate starts....


Shocking stuff! I would personally blame the equipment though.

galwayrush

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I was just thinking the same! What kind of idiots are they employing there!

Very highly paid idiots.:(

My name is URL

Yes I'd believe it.. it happened in the Lourdes hospital, which has a long history of major fcukups. It's a miracle the place is still open

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2055833487

L.Jenkins

Those morons in the HSE never cease to amaze me with their stupidity!

Abi

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I was just thinking the same! What kind of idiots are they employing there!

One of many of their 'faux pas's too. They had to make a massive pay-out to one of my friends neighbours a few years back, because of mis-judgements that were made by the doctors. The baby was starved of oxegen and it caused massive brain damage.

It's also gotten some stick for the cleanliness of the hospital.

Standard Toaster

Jayus Christ.
I wonder just how many other misdiagnoses have there been? :eek:

Joey the lips

Before the slagging starts I just thought i would say we found this hospital to be great with our kids.

However i agree this is mystifying and a worry...

Hannibal Smith

Abigayle wrote: »

One of many of their 'faux pas's too. They had to make a massive pay-out to one of my friends neighbours a few years back, because of mis-judgements that were made by the doctors. The baby was starved of oxegen and it caused massive brain damage.

It's also gotten some stick for the cleanliness of the hospital.

oh no how awful!

I can't imagine being as vigilent as the mum in the story though....wasn't she so right to get a second opinion!

B0X

This is just disgusting.

rovert

My name is URL wrote: »

Yes I'd believe it.. it happened in the Lourdes hospital, which has a long history of major fcukups. It's a miracle the place is still open

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=2055833487

+ a billion

Abi

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

I can't imagine being as vigilent as the mum in the story though....wasn't she so right to get a second opinion!

Very much so. I wonder what it was that made her think she should ask someone else? Thankfully she did.

I think a lot of people would just accept what is being said to them as gospel truth, as they firmly trust the people that are treating them.

JONJO THE MISER

Give that kid a crayon and tell him write down 6 numbers between 1 and 49.

sponsoredwalk

bonerm wrote: »

HSE was in the first sentence, so yes.

Honestly, they are the enemy within.

Is this what you mean?

The HSE is frequently portrayed by the Irish media as an inefficient, top-heavy, bloated and excessively bureaucratic organisation defined by cronyism, budget overruns and an excessively "manager-oriented" culture where middle management and consultants' demands are prioritised over adequate service provision.[4][5]

Additionally, the organisation has been involved in a number of serious health scandals, relating to cancer misdiagnoses.[6] [7] The HSE has also been the subject of criticism for cutbacks, service cancellations and overall stinginess.

The organisation was the subject of an Irish high court ruling in September 2008 stating it was in breach of contract over a reduction in payments made to pharmacists for dispensing drugs under various State schemes. If repayments are mandated, the HSE faces a bill of over €50 million.[8]

In late September 2008, the HSE was also criticised for not anticipating costs and deteriorating economic circumstances, which it claims as the cause of the cancellation of a Flu vaccination scheme for people aged over 50, with the Irish Medical organisation accusing the HSE of "incompetence and acting irresponsibly".[9]

In March 2010 it emerged that 58,000 X-Ray radiographs had not been reviewed by a consultant radiologist. [10]

In the same month, the Irish Medical Organisation stated that patients awaiting a HSE medical card were waiting up to six months to receive their card, and that their health was being put at risk as they could not afford medicines that they would have otherwise obtained had they received their card.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Service_Executive

That sounds atrocious.

If this was private healthcare I doubt this would happen.

I definitely do not support privatization of public healthcare but the fact that the organization is not run with the efficiency of a private organization tells you how the general public is viewed to a great extent.

Superbus

I can imagine... "But I can feel it kicking!" "That just means it's really dead."

Ms. Captain M

I'd imagine there's a quite a few women who had scans there now wondering if they should have got a second opinion

littlefriend

Ms. Captain M wrote: »

I'd imagine there's a quite a few women who had scans there now wondering if they should have got a second opinion

Don't worry, they've set up a helpline to deal with such things.

B0X

littlefriend wrote: »

Don't worry, they've set up a helpline to deal with such things.

"Now just hold the phone to your stomach and we can double check the diagnosis... Oh you hear that?"

"No?"

"Yeah me neither. You had better get your vaccum cleaner"

galwayrush

Sack and name and shame the incompetent staff involved.

edit, that won't happen, our HSE are much better at cover ups than direct proper action.

michael999999

there will be NO sanction or sackings over this.to say it was the scanning machines fault is b***x as they continued using it for six months after.
this will be forgotten in a few days because as bad as this story is,we irish just accept that these things happen.
there will be no marches or protests outside h.s.e. offices or harneys for that matter.the hse and goverment are a disgrace.

January

Abigayle wrote: »

Very much so. I wonder what it was that made her think she should ask someone else? Thankfully she did.

I think a lot of people would just accept what is being said to them as gospel truth, as they firmly trust the people that are treating them.

Apparently she had the scan on the Wednesday and no heartbeat was detected, she was asked to come back for a D&C on the Friday and given the abortificant drugs to take the morning of the procedure. She still had morning sickness on the Thursday morning and a friend said she should get it checked out, so she headed to her GP.

PeterIanStaker

Fair play to that GP he is obviously a better doctor than the eejits in that place.

ScumLord

Given the education they have to go through can you really get a stupid doctor? Maybe a stupidly cocky one that doesn't think to check their work.

Horrible, terrible mismanagement is the problem in our hospitals. We have some of the highest educated people in the country working in them and yet the organisation as a whole is constantly making all kinds of errors which I'm certain our down to the office more than the doctor. While doctors can be tared and feathered we never hear of the managers getting any kinds of reprimands.

Standard Toaster

"Computer sayz no" and they kill your unborn child....ƒucked up.

PeterIanStaker

ScumLord wrote: »

Given the education they have to go through can you really get a stupid doctor? Maybe a stupidly cocky one that doesn't think to check their work.

Horrible, terrible mismanagement is the problem in our hospitals. We have some of the highest educated people in the country working in them and yet the organisation as a whole is constantly making all kinds of errors which I'm certain our down to the office more than the doctor. While doctors can be tared and feathered we never hear of the managers getting any kinds of reprimands.

Yes, you can indeed get stupid doctors, just like you can get oustandingly good ones. However, youre dead right that the bureacrats that run the HSE cause a lot of damage due to the anything-for-a-quiet-life attitude they have. Just wait til their the patient in the bed - oh no wait they'd probably all go private!:mad:

sponsoredwalk

michael999999 wrote: »

there will be no marches or protests outside h.s.e. offices or harneys for that matter.the hse and goverment are a disgrace.

You

obviously

don't

read

the

news

(plenty of links there)

There are, and have been, plenty of people protesting this & there is a lot of anger.

DubMedic

Two sides to every story.

galwayrush

DubMedic wrote: »

Two sides to every story.

Yeah, the general public's experiences and the HSE circling the wagons.:rolleyes:

sponsoredwalk

DubMedic wrote: »

Two sides to every story.

True, I'd love to hear it if anyone knows the other story.

Standard Toaster wrote: »

ƒucked up.

Nice

It led me to think of writing sh1t as ∫hit

What a stupid rule boards has, it only inspires creative ways to bypass it :cool:

The_Minister

While obviously some misdiagnoses are inevitable, particularly with more complex or subtle illnesses, it seems incredible that this mistake was made.

I can't see a date, but if it was early days in the pregnancy then I can see it happening, but the fact that they expected a strong heartbeat seems to suggest that it was far along - how hard is it to tell a living baby from a dead one, once it has a heartbeat?

ScumLord

The_Minister wrote: »

I can't see a date, but if it was early days in the pregnancy then I can see it happening,

But why push to abort? Why not just let it go for a while instead of ordering an immediate abort?

noaddedsugar

That's awful but I really don't find it that hard to believe. I had a scan at 8wks pregnant and they didn't find a heartbeat, that was on a Friday. I was told to come back on the Monday for a d&c. On the Monday I asked for another scan before the procedure and grudgingly they agreed, the man who was doing the scan even asked me what I was doing there as there wasn't going to be a change over the weekend. Lo and behold they found a heartbeat. The sonographer just said it's a viable pregnancy and sent me on my way. My son is now 3. That was in UCHG.

omahaid

Did the phrase "international best practices" get trotted out yet?

noaddedsugar

ScumLord wrote: »

But why push to abort? Why not just let it go for a while instead of ordering an immediate abort?

If the foetus has died and the woman isn't passing it naturally there is a risk of infection to the mother. That's why they carry out d&cs.

jenizzle

I'm just more petrified for any mothers that may have been made abort healthy children that were alive and well beforehand on the advice of their doctor

Hannibal Smith

noaddedsugar wrote: »

That's awful but I really don't find it that hard to believe. I had a scan at 8wks pregnant and they didn't find a heartbeat, that was on a Friday. I was told to come back on the Monday for a d&c. On the Monday I asked for another scan before the procedure and grudgingly they agreed, the man who was doing the scan even asked me what I was doing there as there wasn't going to be a change over the weekend. Lo and behold they found a heartbeat. The sonographer just said it's a viable pregnancy and sent me on my way. My son is now 3. That was in UCHG.

oh my goodness! :eek:

January

DubMedic wrote: »

Two sides to every story.

Do you know the other side? Because I'd like to know it, if the equipment was too shabby to be detecting heartbeats then it shouldn't have been in operation.

The_Minister wrote: »

While obviously some misdiagnoses are inevitable, particularly with more complex or subtle illnesses, it seems incredible that this mistake was made.

I can't see a date, but if it was early days in the pregnancy then I can see it happening, but the fact that they expected a strong heartbeat seems to suggest that it was far along - how hard is it to tell a living baby from a dead one, once it has a heartbeat?

Apparently it was at 8 weeks, you should be able to see a heartbeat on a sonogram at that point, but possibly not hear one.

stovelid

Heard it today and was pretty chilled.

I wondered how many times it had happened before but the parents had just taken their word for it.....

skepticalone

noaddedsugar wrote: »

That's awful but I really don't find it that hard to believe. I had a scan at 8wks pregnant and they didn't find a heartbeat, that was on a Friday. I was told to come back on the Monday for a d&c. On the Monday I asked for another scan before the procedure and grudgingly they agreed, the man who was doing the scan even asked me what I was doing there as there wasn't going to be a change over the weekend. Lo and behold they found a heartbeat. The sonographer just said it's a viable pregnancy and sent me on my way. My son is now 3. That was in UCHG.

my goodness , you were lucky . Interestingly , a member of my own family was advised to terminate as the babys heartbeat was very weak .... I only found out AFTER she had gone ahead and terminated on the doctors advice .... apparently in a lot of countries , this is very common , doctor reckons the heartbeat is weak and advises termination , shocking yes , outdated yes .Sent red flags up in my mind , but i did not want to distress the woman further , after all she had done as the doctor advised .She was 8 weeks pregnant .