Woman 'forced to wait three hours in NHS A&E with dead baby in handbag' after miscarriage

A mother who miscarried at home says she was made to wait three hours next to her dead baby’s body in hospital.

Midwives at Queen’s Hospital in Essex initially told Tammy Anderson, 33, to wait for a midwife to come to her home when she told them about her bleeding over the phone.

The wedding and events planner told The Mirror she received a phone call several hours later asking her to come to hospital.

She says was driven to A&E by relatives at 7pm, then sat in a crowded waiting room next to the body of her baby Archie.

She was seen at 10pm, at which point she was able to hand over the body of her 15-week-old child to the hospital.

“It was a horrific three hours, which I will never, ever forget,” she told the newspaper.

“I had Archie wrapped in a blanket inside my handbag because I couldn’t face seeing him.

“After such a traumatic experience all I wanted was be at home with my children, not in a public place."

Ms Anderson’s 14-year-old daughter, Jamie-Leigh, helped deliver the baby at their home in Dagenham, Essex, on 13 June.

“We managed to break the cord together and wrapped him in a blanket,” said Ms Anderson.

“My daughter was very brave and put all her fears to one side so that she could support me through it.

“She saw things no child should have to see.”

Ms Anderson says doctors did not put her in touch with a bereavement midwife until almost two days after she miscarried.

The maternity services at Queen’s Hospital in Essex are rated by the Care Quality Commission as “requiring improvement.”

Kathryn Halford, chief nurse at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are very sorry to hear of Ms Anderson’s poor experience with us. We know what a difficult and painful time this is for all women and we aim to offer them as much support as we can.

“We’re investigating her case fully and have also invited her into our hospital so we can discuss what happened in more detail.