Pregnant mother waited seven hours to be seen at Southport Hospital

SOUTHPORT Hospital has apologised after a pregnant mum waited seven hours to be seen by a doctor and health bosses warned it is facing severe pressure on beds due to the current flu outbreak.

Kerrie Anne Gilder sat in the Emergency Assessment Unit into the early hours of Thursday morning after being referred there by her GP.


Having thrown up blood the previous two mornings the worried mother – 27-weeks pregnant – waited in fear that something had happened to her baby.

Kerrie, 19, of Tulketh Mews, became concerned when she vomited blood twice on Tuesday morning.

With morning sickness usual she thought she had just strained herself, but when it happened again on Wednesday morning she went to her doctor’s.

She said: “I couldn’t get an appointment until 4pm and when I saw the doctor I was sent to hospital to be checked out.

“I was scared – not for me, for the baby. It was about 5.30pm when I went to hospital and my next-door neighbour had my daughter.”

Arriving around 6pm, Kerrie was sent to the Emergency Assessment Unit – where cases sent by GPs are referred to, rather than A&E.

She said: “I hadn’t eaten because my doctor told me not to. I got up to ask – obviously I was starving – but they said I wasn’t allowed.

“I just wanted to go home. A doctor came to see me about 12.45am and when I was seen I was examined on a bed in the waiting room – they pulled a bed in and put a screen across.

‘There was only me and my partner there at the time but it was quite degrading.”

After being seen Kerrie was asked to stay in hospital but, concerned about spending the night away from her 11-month-old daughter, Gracie, she chose to go home.

She said: “If they told me at 6pm I could’ve sorted something out. I’ve never stayed away from my daughter overnight.”

When Kerrie and her partner, Warren Perry, 23, left at around 1.30am, nurses gave them grab bags with sandwiches in. She said: “The nurses were trying their best.”

When Kerrie went back the next day she was seen much quicker, and now has an operation booked.

Jayne Norbury, matron for the EAU at Southport Hospital, said: “In common with other hospital trusts, we are seeing many more patients than usual because of the number of people with confirmed or suspected seasonal flu.

“This has a knock-on effect across the Trust. I am very sorry we fell short of our usual high standards in this instance. If the patient would like to contact me, I would be very happy to discuss her experience in person.”

http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-news/southport-southport-news/2011/01/14/pregnant-mother-waited-seven-hours-to-be-seen-at-southport-hospital-101022-27982702/2/