In Parliament on Tuesday (Apr 5), Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary said that the case of a woman, who had been nine months pregnant when she suffered a miscarriage at the National University Hospital (NUH), is now closed.
The issue had caused concern in social media after the woman’s husband put up a Facebook post on Mar 21 saying that his wife had been taken by ambulance to the Accident and Emergency Ward at NUH on Mar 15 at around 10:30 pm.
He had said then that she was taken to the maternity ward only two hours later, and when doctors checked on her condition, found the baby no longer had a heartbeat.
The husband had questioned why there had been two hours between her admission to to the A&E and the time she was attended to. In his post, he said he could not stop thinking that his child could have been saved if his wife had been promptly attended to.
The post went on to be widely shared.
However, on Mar 31, he met with NUH officials to discuss his wife’s case, and conceded that the miscarriage may not have occurred at the A&E department. “I recognised and apologised that my original post on (Facebook) has created unintended speculation and abuse of staff. After clarifications on the facts with the hospital, I would like to thank them for saving my wife,” he said.
In the aftermath, NUH also apologised, saying it “should have done more to provide closer monitoring and care” and that its processes would be reviewed “so that such incidents do not happen again”.
Health Minister Ong Ye Kung had also said then that his ministry would work with NUH to thoroughly investigate the case.
Dr Puthucheary told the House on Apr 5, “The couple has had discussions with the NUH team and the matter has since been closed between the two parties. The family had put up a social media post recently acknowledging this, and further acknowledged that the mother had not been left unattended for two hours.
‘Indeed she received attention and care from the NUH emergency department team from the time she arrived. They further noted that the sad and unfortunate outcome of the pregnancy was not the result of her experience at the hospital.”
He said that the hospital’s clinical care processes had been “appropriate” and offered condolences to the grieving family.
Dr Puthucheary said that the case has been investigated thoroughly, adding that there are some areas where NUH could improve, such as communications and the coordination of transfers between the emergency department and the delivery suite.
These have been implemented, he said.
/TISG