Hospital shame as Tracey Lake miscarries baby in toilet

    * By Marianne Betts
    * From: Herald Sun
    * February 17, 2011 12:00AM
    * 52 comments

    * Mum-to-be miscarries baby in hospital toilet
    * Forced to wait four hours before seeing doctor
    * Case sparks major investigation into procedures

A PREGNANT woman was made to wait nearly two hours at a Melbourne hospital emergency department before she lost her baby in the toilet.

And it was more than four hours before Tracey Lake - who was 10 to 12 weeks pregnant - even saw a doctor at Frankston Hospital, her family says.

Victorian Health Minister David Davis has ordered an immediate investigation.

Frankston Hospital has apologised to Ms Lake, 41, and is reviewing the case.

Her horror unfolded after she visited a GP in pain and bleeding, and was sent to the nearby hospital emergency department for urgent care on February 9.

Her partner, Darren Hall, said the GP rang ahead to the emergency department to let them know of their arrival, and sent a letter with them, explaining she had a "threatened and incomplete miscarriage".

Ms Lake waited at the emergency department for more than an hour before a nurse took her blood pressure, and despite asking for painkillers she was given none.

Two hours later she left the waiting room to go to the toilet because her bleeding was getting worse.

"I felt it come out . . . I knew I had lost my baby," Ms Lake said.

"I started crying, I didn't know what to do, I was pretty upset.

"I would have thought, if someone was miscarrying, they would send you straight through.

"I don't believe anybody should sit there and lose their baby waiting to be seen to."

When the distressed couple told the triage nurse they had lost their baby down the toilet, the nurse failed to recognise them and started recording their details as if they were new patients.

She then told them to sit in the waiting room again, and minutes later the same nurse approached Ms Lake asking for a urine sample, only for the couple to repeat that they had lost their baby, so it was too late.

Ms Lake was then given a bed, and finally saw a doctor at 2.30am, nearly five hours after arriving at the emergency department.

She was told her blood pressure was low, and if she lost any more blood she would need a transfusion.

Ms Lake had a curette at 4.30am and was discharged later that morning.

Mr Hall admitted the couple may have still lost their baby had Ms Lake been cared for immediately, but he said she did not need to suffer the distress and indignity of losing it in a hospital toilet.

"I am angry and disgusted this could happen in this day and age in the health system we are supposed to have," he said.

The referring GP declined to comment.

Hospital executive director Brendon Gardner said the hospital, and especially the emergency department team, "deeply regret" what happened.

The nurse unit manager had apologised to Ms Lake, and staff were being interviewed as part of a thorough review of the case, he said.

"Processes and procedures at triage will be changed if necessary to prevent such an incident from occurring again," he said.

Health Minister David Davis said he was distressed to learn of the case and his thoughts were with Ms Lake and Mr Hall.

"I have ordered my department to ensure that Peninsula Health leaves no stone unturned in an immediate investigation into what happened," he said.

This is a Vic hospital nemesis - you must have had deja vu on your mind

But should a worldclass healthcare facility then have the woman left for 2 hours afterwards before being treated???


And you're telling me the public system is the way to go?

Strange, somehow I couldn't see the Cabrini Hospital in Armadale treating us like that back when we were there.

Andrei.Hicks wrote on Feb 17^th, 2011 at 2:33pm:


Notwithstanding that the pseudo-Private hospital system is supposed to take the pressure off the public system: if she had presented at any pseudo-Private Hospital, she would have been sent off to the nearest Public one - regardless of whether or not she was privately-insured!

This is because the duplicated hospital system is basically designed a 5-star hotel service to justify the extortionate costs of lining the pockets of exclusive doctors for non-urgent (often cosmetic) procedures...

Why are Aussie taxpayers heavily-subsidising 5-star hotel rooms for those who can afford to pay for their own Private Health Insurance in the first instance - and why doesn't our system prioritise health care delivery on the basis of MEDICAL need!?

I'm sorry but personal experience for us tells a different story.

We had a baby exactly same time as friends of ours (a month apart).

They went public, we were private.

The difference was massive. We had 4 days of care, my wife was relaxed, we had fantastic facilities etc.
The public system, I kid you not, they were sent home next day with a "here's your baby away you go" attitude.

It cost us next to nothing because the private insurer paid for it and we were able to pay for it because we had a 30% rebate.

Now I am sorry you throw up all the stats you want, you will not convince me that we didn't do well out of it in comparison to our friends.