A heartbroken mum received a letter from the NHS reminding her of a pregnancy scan – two weeks after she suffered a miscarriage.
Abi Evans had been left devastated on 20 January when her 10-week scan showed that the pregnancy sac was empty.
The 30-year-old claims that at the time, she was reassured by staff at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital that her future appointments would be cancelled.
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She described opening a letter reminding her of another scan just two weeks later as “a kick in the stomach”.
“I was very disappointed,” Abi, who owns a baby group business in Gloucestershire, told Need To Know.
“Through teary eyes and broken voice at my follow up appointment for a second scan to confirm the empty sac, I asked if future appointments would be cancelled.
“I was reassured and told it would all be sorted and not to worry.
“The hospital staff were very kind, sympathetic and helpful.
“But it was a kick in the stomach to be reminded of how far along my pregnancy should be.
“It brought up a lot of emotions again.”
After being diagnosed with a missed miscarriage, Abi opted for medical miscarriage surgery.
The mum-of-one said: “Everything looked good according to the first scan and it was a healthy single pregnancy, confirmed with heartbeat.
“During the scan, it was noted there was a subchorionic hematoma and to expect some blood but not to worry.
“After Christmas, I passed a small bloody clot.
“I put it down to the hematoma but was obviously still anxious so I called 111 and they got me an out of hours appointment.
“He did a pregnancy test and poke of my tummy and said looks all fine but referred me to the early pregnancy unit for a scan to ease my anxiety and make sure it’s all ok.
“The following day, I got a call and booked us in for a scan two days later.
“I was expected to have been 10 weeks pregnant.
“There was a trainee and two ladies present.
“After a lot of silence and an internal scan, she told us the sac was empty.
“This was obviously devastating and I never expected this to be the case.
“It was very confusing as the nurses could not give a definite answer.
“So we were very unaware of why and how it was empty.
“There was no explanation given, just that the sac was empty and no embryo present.
“It was emotional after telling family members and our child over Christmas.
“It was the worst start to the new year.”
Abi and road worker partner Jevan Brown, 32, were over the moon when a pregnancy test showed positive.
She added: “We discussed coming off contraception and very luckily caught pregnant as soon as I removed the coil but we weren’t actively tracking or trying.
“We were in shock and blessed that it happened so quickly.
“I found out as early as four weeks.
“When I lost the baby, the hospital were amazing.
“The staff were so loving, caring, and I couldn’t have been more grateful for my experience.
“I was I felt at peace and was offered a memory box and plenty of options throughout my experience.
“But I would like to say that communication needs to be better across departments.
“I understand it may be automatic but this should have been flagged as soon as the miscarriage was confirmed.
“I really hope I don’t receive more letters or notifications regarding this pregnancy as it’ll be very upsetting and unsettling.”
A Gloucestershire Royal Hospital spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry that this letter was sent following such a distressing experience and offer our sincere apologies to Abi Evans.
“We recognise how upsetting this will have been and are reviewing our processes to ensure this does not happen again.
“Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust remains fully committed to providing the highest standards of care and compassion to all our patients.
“We encourage Abi to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) who can fully investigate these concerns.”
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