Miscarriage review findings released
16 February 2009
A review of the management of miscarriages at Maitland Hospital has made a number of recommendations aimed at helping improve care and outcomes for patients.
Hunter New England Health Chief Executive Dr Nigel Lyons initiated the review in January, after a number of women came forward to publicly talk about their experiences at The Maitland Hospital. The women also spoke that they felt there was a lack of compassion and emotional care provided by staff
Management of Maitland Hospital and members of the Review Team spoke today with patients involved in the review and with hospital staff to discuss the findings.
Dr Lyons said it had been a difficult time for all involved.
“I would like to thank in particular, the patients and their families, the medical staff, midwives, nurses and administrative staff at The Maitland Hospital, along with the members of the Review Team. I appreciate that this has been a distressing time for everyone,” Dr Lyons said.
“The incidents resulting in this review are reminders to us of the needs of miscarrying women.
“While there is nothing staff could have done to prevent the miscarriages, they have spent considerable time reflecting on what happened, and how the events could have unfolded for a better outcome for the women.
“I want to stress that I have complete confidence in the staff at Maitland Hospital and I know they do a great job, and provide very good clinical care for patients,” Dr Lyons said.
“The common theme in all of the stories told by the patients was the provision of timely and compassionate care at times of high activity in the Emergency Department, especially when assessment and treatment areas are fully occupied at the time the woman presents.
“When we first became aware of the concerns, I discussed with staff the importance of providing more than good clinical care, that the emotional care for people is equally important and many staff agree.
“Because of the nature of Emergency Departments, periods of high demand occur regularly and the recommendations from the review are designed to support staff in delivering high quality care at all times.
“Many of the recommendations made in the review are already in the process of being implemented at The Maitland Hospital.
Hunter New England Health will implement the establishment of a Clinical Initiatives Nurse (CIN) for times of high activity in the ED. The CIN role is to keep waiting room patients updated, as well as providing initial assessment and care until a doctor can see them.
“For example they might accompany a patient to the bathroom, be on hand to talk them through their symptoms or support their emotional care needs as they wait for medical care. The CIN role has been an important learning from this Review, and Hunter New England Health will move swiftly to introduce this additional staff member in the ED,” Dr Lyons said.
“More will be done in the coming weeks and an implementation team has been formed at The Maitland Hospital to continue that work.”
The Review involved interviews with patients and staff, information provided by patients, and a review of cases and documentation and was overseen by the Clinical Excellence Commission.
The review team made a total of 14 recommendations relating to the appropriateness of care and practices and protocols.
NOTE TO MEDIA: The Review findings are detailed in a following Information Sheet and Action Plan, which also outlines what action will be taken on each recommendation.
Contact: Communication Unit
Phone: 4985 5522