Doctors told pregnant woman her baby had died … Two days later they found a heartbeat

RobYourBuilder · 12-12-2014 01:12AM #1

THE HSE HAS apologised to Dublin woman Aimee Nolan and her family, after mistakenly telling the expectant mother that her baby had died — only to admit two days later that the hospital made a mistake.

26-year-old Aimee, who now lives in Offaly, attended the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise on Monday of this week, after her local GP told her she couldn’t find a heartbeat.

She came in, and straight away she scanned me.

"When she put the thing on me to scan me, straight away I saw that the baby had a heartbeat, because it was flickering away."

“They all just kept looking at each other [as if to say] how was this woman told that her baby was dead, and we can all clearly see that there’s still a heartbeat there.”

Her baby was fine. She was told: “That’s a strong heartbeat.”

Aimee didn’t know how to react…

Joy, anger, shock. I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, lash-out or ask ‘what the hell happened?… Why were we told our baby was dead?

“The GP did say not to panic and explained the baby could be too far down to hear,” she told Midlands 103 today, adding:

You automatically fear the worst, don’t you?

With her husband and three-year-old son Jack in tow, Aimee headed to hospital, and was waiting for around two hours before a doctor arrived to carry out another scan.

She, basically, was scanning me for literally two seconds and, just as blunt as you like, said ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t detect a heartbeat’ and that your baby is dead.

And while she could “hardly take it in” herself, her young son was also hugely upset to see his mother in such a state.

God love him. I was just sitting there sobbing. He was like — ‘why are you crying, mammy? Why are you crying?

The doctor told Aimee to come back the following week to discuss the next steps. One of the options, she was told, was a D&C procedure.

On returning home, Aimee and her husband broke the news to their family and friends. And after reflecting on what had happened, they decided they didn’t want to wait another week before heading back to the hospital.

They put in a phone call, and an earlier appointment was arranged for Wednesday morning.

The nurse and consultant who spoke to the couple “were really sympathetic” — but Aimee was surprised when there was a “knock on the door” during their meeting, and a senior doctor showed up to carry out a further scan.

Review

In a statement, the HSE said it was aware of the circumstances of the case and that the matter was being “fully reviewed”.

“A Consultant Obstetrician met with the family yesterday and apologised,” the statement said.

The management of the Maternity Services at MRHP wish to apologise for any distress caused to the woman concerned and her family.

The HSE said that patients who attend its Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit out of hours are typically assessed by the non-consultant hospital doctor on call and “if clinically well are advised to attend EPAU at the next earliest appointment for further assessment”.

In accordance with national clinical guidelines “a diagnosis of miscarriage must be confirmed by a consultant prior to the instigation of a plan of management. This measure ensures the safe management of early pregnancy problems at the Maternity Unit”.

http://www.thejournal.ie/portlaoise-baby-1830076-Dec2014/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/coroner-s-court/hse-urged-to-learn-lessons-from-after-death-of-baby-1.2032717

A new low for the HSE. When and where will there be accountability for their incompetence?

Fr_Dougal · 12-12-2014 01:19AM

Portlaoise hospital has an atrocious record for maternity.

Venus In Furs · 12-12-2014 01:22AM

That article is confusing me. It says first that it was her GP rather than the HSE who told her a heartbeat couldn't be detected. Then it says a scan was done in the hospital and straightaway it was evident there was a heartbeat... then further down it says someone in the hospital scanned for two seconds and said there was no heartbeat.

It's not very well written.

Highflyer13 · 12-12-2014 01:22AM

RobYourBuilder wrote: »

http://www.thejournal.ie/portlaoise-baby-1830076-Dec2014/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/woman-told-foetus-was-dead-then-alive-two-days-later-1.2034953

A new low for the HSE. When and where will there be accountability for their incompetence?

Never as long as there is not huge political change. The rot starts from the top.

qt3.14 · 12-12-2014 01:23AM

Can't wait till they bring in robot doctors and we can cut the mistake rate down to 0%. Course then people will really have cause to complain about doctors cold hands.

Sam Kade · 12-12-2014 01:24AM

So they gave her bad news first then good news

The Moldy Gowl · 12-12-2014 01:25AM

Literally 2 seconds?

Literally?

Ara shure god love da poor cratur.

Seems like something is missing.

RobYourBuilder · 12-12-2014 01:26AM

Venus In Furs wrote: »

That article is confusing me. It says first that it was her GP rather than the HSE who told her a heartbeat couldn't be detected. Then it says a scan was done in the hospital and straightaway it was evident there was a heartbeat... then further down it says someone in the hospital scanned for two seconds and said there was no heartbeat.

It's not very well written.

That was Dingus' heres fault, not the writers. I bollixed up the link. On a new phone and only getting used to it.

Lingua Franca · 12-12-2014 01:29AM

Venus In Furs wrote: »

That article is confusing me. It says first that it was her GP rather than the HSE who told her a heartbeat couldn't be detected. Then it says a scan was done in the hospital and straightaway it was evident there was a heartbeat... then further down it says someone in the hospital scanned for two seconds and said there was no heartbeat.

It's not very well written.

That thing about "was scanning me for literally two seconds and, just as blunt as you like, said ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t detect a heartbeat’ and that your baby is dead." is complete bull. I've had three children and countless scans and "literally two seconds" of a scan is nonsense. It's often taken well over a minute to find any trace of a pregnancy in me. She's saying that the doctor literally pressed the scanner against her stomach and immediately pronounced her baby dead without looking. This is an outright lie.

I do believe she was misdiagnosed with a miscarriage which must be a horrifying experience but it does happen frequently. Doctors and scanning equipment aren't infallible. However, this article is pure hyperbole.

0byme75341jo28 · 12-12-2014 01:36AM

RobYourBuilder wrote: »

That was Dingus' heres fault, not the writers. I bollixed up the link. On a new phone and only getting used to it.

The struggle is real, Rob.

TheChizler · 12-12-2014 01:37AM

It feels like a bit of hyperbole all right, maybe a bit exaggerated for the sake of the article. Would a doctor really tell bluntly in front of your child that your foetus is dead? Were they the actual words used?

Of course it would be awful to get a misdiagnosis like that, but it happens quite often all over the world, that's why we have second opinions. A lot of medical diagnosis is educated guesswork.

loh_oro · 12-12-2014 01:39AM

What the hell is going on in Portlaoise hospital ? One thing after another when it comes to maternity.

seventeen sheep · 12-12-2014 01:40AM

What a non-story! I can't believe this made the news. It doesn't say how far on she was, but it's very common for scans to miss the heartbeat in early pregnancy. Especially considering these were external rather than internal scans.

The reason she'd have been told to come back in a week would have been to take more measurements to ensure the foetus hadn't grown in the meantime. In which case they obviously wouldn't have proceeded with the D&C or any other procedure.

I've been in her position before - the hospital staff were very kind and sensitive about it, but they said it was unlikely to be a viable pregnancy when they couldn't get the heartbeat - in that case, it was just too early on. I'd imagine it happens every day in the bigger hospitals - it's why they try to avoid scanning any woman early on in the pregnancy. It just causes unnecessary worry in a lot of cases.

Cookie_Monster · 12-12-2014 01:41AM

can't find a heartbeat does not equal dead.

GP was clearly struggling to find heartbeat for whatever reason and got the mother to go for a scan to confirm, seems like the right thing to do to me

Mountainsandh · 12-12-2014 01:43AM

qt3.14 wrote: »

Can't wait till they bring in robot doctors and we can cut the mistake rate down to 0%. Course then people will really have cause to complain about doctors cold hands.

It's another revelation about poor practice after a string of fatal errors in that area, it is understandable and preferable that people denounce it publicly.

Finally the truth about the standard of care in maternity services in Ireland is emerging, it's a great thing. Hopefully future Mums and babies will benefit.

In 2005 after experiencing dire care myself I was shocked at how women had been singing the praises of my obstetrician before the birth of my child. A majority of these women had experienced complications while giving birth, and what a hero he was to have dealt with that. Two court sentences and a lot of damages later (think millions) (not involving me), the man is retired, and I am convinced that some of these complications were caused by the poor standard of care the man was delivering.

Tasden · 12-12-2014 01:44AM

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

can't find a heartbeat does not equal dead.

GP was clearly struggling to find heartbeat for whatever reason and got the mother to go for a scan to confirm, seems like the right thing to do to me

Yeah that's what I gathered too. GP couldn't find heartbeat, told her not to panic but go to hospital for scan and more thorough check, mother feared the worst as is natural, hospital found heartbeat and all was well. Article is very badly written though.

My name is URL · 12-12-2014 01:45AM

She, basically, was scanning me for literally two seconds and, just as blunt as you like, said ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t detect a heartbeat’ and that your baby is dead.

Look at the way quotation marks are selectively used there despite the entire thing being portrayed as an exact depiction of what happened.

Mountainsandh · 12-12-2014 01:49AM

Tasden wrote: »

Yeah that's what I gathered too. GP couldn't find heartbeat, told her not to panic but go to hospital for scan and more thorough check, mother feared the worst as is natural, hospital found heartbeat and all was well. Article is very badly written though.

My understanding from the RTE news snippet, is that the GP getting no heartbeat was not the issue, but that during a further appointment in hospital the "death" of the foetus was wrongfully confirmed.
Haven't read the link I must say.

I thought the Mum was saying she was given another appointment to terminate the miscarriage, and that's when it was discovered the baby had grown bigger, and thatnthe fluttering on the scan was in fact a heartbeat.

Lingua Franca · 12-12-2014 01:51AM

"Ah sure I was literally only sliding into the MRI scanner and the doctor said "You have one week to live", Joe"

The Backwards Man · 12-12-2014 01:58AM

I remember I used to read things like the Weekly World News and the Daily Sport for a bit of a laugh now and then, but at the same time I used to think thank fcuk we haven't this bottom of the barrel print first, check facts later (if we can be bothered) journalism in Ireland . . .

Mountainsandh · 12-12-2014 02:05AM

Again it might be worth checking the snippet on the news with the lady herself explaining what happened. I was a bit distracted watching but Will check again. Rarely read the Journal and the likes.

czipownik · 12-12-2014 10:56AM

Maybe it's time to dismantle this whole HSE thing, right? I am native of Poland and although no system is perfect, the present setup out there brings in competition. And yes, under competition poor performers are rooted out.

There is mandatory public healthcare insurance contribution deducted from your paycheck in the first place as opposed to Ireland.

Public healthcare is overseen by the NFZ (Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia = National Healthcare Fund). Public and private hospitals, health centres, GP and consultant practices, etc. are contracted every year by the NFZ. Contractors get money allocated for each procedure and the National Healthcare Fund reviews performance of each unit on annual basis. This way, maternity unit of Portlaoise midlands hospital would have been closed already due to no contract renewal.

Of course there are some issues in Poland like low sums of money allocated for certain procedures, hospitals getting into debt, surgeries cancelled after summer time due to money dry out, etc. But at least medics and managers feel much more pressure to perform well.

Reoil · 12-12-2014 10:59AM

“The GP did say not to panic and explained the baby could be too far down to hear,” she told Midlands 103 today, adding:

You automatically fear the worst, don’t you?

So, she wasn't told it was dead...
She jumped the gun?

kylith · 12-12-2014 11:38AM

The quotation marks around what the nurse allegedly said mean that it's impossible to work out exactly what she said. My reading would be that she couldn't find a heartbeat and told the patient to come back in a week when options would be discussed including a D&C if necessary. This seems sensible to me,

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 12-12-2014 11:45AM

Her GP sent her to the maternity over in Portlaoise for a scan as he couldn't hear the heart beat.
She was scanned in Portlaoise after a 2 hour wait.
She was told there was no heartbeat, that the foetus had stopped growing at 9 weeks and that she was 14 weeks pregnant.
She was told she could have a D+C to remove it or take a pill but that she'd have to go back the following week.
Two days later she went back as she couldn't bear carrying a dead baby around inside her.
They scanned her again before going ahead with the treatment.
There was a heart beat and the baby was the correct size for a 14 week pregnancy.
There was no scan images, measurements or records of her first scan found.

Pretty disgusting to be honest.

liquoriceall · 12-12-2014 11:45AM

This happens all the time?? You go for a scan, they tell you come back next week for further scan and possible decision of d&c if they still cant find heartbeat & no further growth. How in gods name this nonsense got published as a story is beyond me! The worst thing is nobody will refute this crap only issue the blanket statement of not commenting on individual cases.....

suicide_circus · 12-12-2014 11:48AM

Presumably nothing will make this right except a hundred thousand million euro payout from the state? Medicine is not an exact science. Sometimes bad things happen - that's life.

OldNotWIse · 12-12-2014 11:52AM

Scary that a mistake like this can be made and doesn't even bear thinking about the outcome had a second check not been done but the whole thing also seems very exaggerated. Could there be a claim on the horizon?

conorhal · 12-12-2014 11:53AM

Venus In Furs wrote: »

That article is confusing me. It says first that it was her GP rather than the HSE who told her a heartbeat couldn't be detected. Then it says a scan was done in the hospital and straightaway it was evident there was a heartbeat... then further down it says someone in the hospital scanned for two seconds and said there was no heartbeat.

It's not very well written.

Rubish article about a serious issue and all too common issue, the timeline is presented far more clearly by The Journal.

She visited her GP for a scan but no hearbeat was found, she was told not to worry too much and booked for a second scan at the hospital.
That scan seems to have been rather perfunctory and she was told that yes indeed her baby had died.

It wasn't until she was being prepped for an abortion that a further scan determined that the baby was still in fact alive.

What isn't clear is wheter or not the third scan is standard procedure (I assume it must be). But the second scan was yet another display in a long line of HSE incompetence lately. Yes a foetal heartbeat can be hard to find early in a pregnancy, this woman however was in the second trimester (14wks), to miss a foetal heartbeat at that stage is incompetent.

The care of the young, the elderly and the disabled by the state in this country continues to be pretty hit and miss.

12-12-2014 11:58AM

how has this part been missed

“The GP did say not to panic and explained the baby could be too far down to hear,” she told Midlands 103 today,

Really, we have absolutely no idea what happened. Do we?

Edit: Ah, Conorhal's post fills in some of the gaps.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k · 12-12-2014 12:00PM

Deleted User wrote: »

how has this part been missed

Really, we have absolutely no idea what happened. Do we?

She was told after that, that the baby had stopped growing at 9 weeks and that it was 5 weeks dead

Doctors told pregnant woman her baby had died … Two days later they found a heartbeat

Comments