KKH files police report over miscarriage claims on social media, saying 'no such scenario' happened

SINGAPORE — KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) said it has made a police report over accusations that it had left an expectant mother to bleed profusely at the drop-off point outside the hospital, resulting in a miscarriage.

"KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) would like to clarify that the online report on the incident at the urgent obstetrics and gynaecology centre is incorrect," said Professor Alex Sia, chief executive officer of KKH, in a media statement on Friday (March 25).

"There are discrepancies between the story and the bill information shared online. We can definitively say that there is no such scenario."

Asked to elaborate on the discrepancies, Prof Sia said that the treatments as presented in the published bill do not match with the scenario described in the online report.

"In addition, based on our investigation, there was no such scenario at the hospital on that said period," he added.

On March 23, a social media post detailing an expectant mother's alleged first-hand account of miscarrying her child after waiting four hours at KKH's urgent obstetrics and gynaecology centre made its rounds.

Uploaded by alternative media website Wake Up, Singapore, the post did not reveal her identity, though a document uploaded purporting to be a copy of the hospital bill stated that the hospital visit took place on Feb 28. 

Wake Up, Singapore uploaded another social media post on March 25 with screenshots of alleged calls from KKH to the patient, claiming that the hospital had been in contact with her at around 3.50pm on March 24.

Prof Sia said that KKH did contact the owner of the published bill, "as we were concerned that the information may be misappropriated online".

KKH had released a media statement at around 8pm on the same day, in which Professor Tan Hak Koon, chairman of its obstetrics and gynaecology division, said that the hospital was unable to identify the patient.

In the latest statement, Prof Sia said that it is a crucial time for the healthcare system and KKH would do its utmost to care for its patients.

"Every feedback is an opportunity to do better and we take it seriously, but when there are falsehoods, we must also address them transparently.

"We thank the public for their support, and allowing us time to investigate the incident."

As at 5pm on Friday, the posts were no longer available on Wake Up, Singapore's social media pages and website.