KKH appeals to woman to contact the hospital over miscarriage claims on social media

SINGAPORE — KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) is appealing to a patient to reach out to the hospital directly. The patient claimed to have lost her baby while waiting at the hospital's urgent obstetrics and gynaecology centre for four hours.

In an account of the incident that made the rounds on social media on Wednesday (March 23), the expectant mother alleged that she was bleeding profusely while waiting at the drop-off point outside the hospital.

Responding to TODAY’s queries on Thursday, Professor Tan Hak Koon, chairman of its obstetrics and gynaecology division, said that the hospital is aware of an online report of the incident, but was unable to identify the patient.

"We take patient feedback seriously and are looking into this," he said.

"Despite our best efforts, we are still unable to identify the patient based on the scenario reported." 

Details of the incident were first published in a first-person account by the patient on alternative news website Wake Up, Singapore on Wednesday.

Her identity was not revealed, though a copy of the hospital's bill posted on the website showed that the hospital visit took place on Feb 28. 

However, Prof Tan said that there appears to be discrepancies between the reported account and the bill information shared online.

"Preliminary investigations indicate that there is no such case at the hospital on the date indicated in the report."

He stressed that KKH does not turn away patients in need of medical care.

"Our patients’ health is our top priority." 

In the online article, the expectant mother, who was 20 weeks' pregnant at the time, had tested positive for Covid-19 through an antigen rapid test sometime in February. She was allegedly suffering from several Covid-19 symptoms and severe abdominal pains. 

The woman claimed that she first went to her registered hospital in the morning, but was denied treatment because she had Covid-19. She was later informed that she needed to see an “infectious disease gynae” who was “apparently only available at KKH". 

The woman claimed that she tried visiting another private hospital but was denied treatment so she "had no choice but to head to KKH". 

Both hospitals were not identified in the article.

After reaching KKH at around 2pm, the woman claimed that she was denied treatment. She was instructed to wait at the drop-off area at the hospital after she and her husband pleaded with the hospital.

The couple waited for four hours before a doctor attended to her. She claimed to have suffered a miscarriage in that time. 

Prof Tan said that the hospital has written to Wake Up, Singapore to ask that it shares the patient’s name in full, but the website replied to say that it has asked the patient to contact KKH directly.

The hospital told TODAY that it has not heard from the patient and is appealing to the patient to contact it at feedback [at] kkh.com.sg.

"We are concerned about the well-being of the patient cited in the report, and we appeal for the patient to contact us... for us to address her concerns and render the necessary support."

The account of this incident emerged after a similar one at the National University Hospital (NUH), where an expectant mother who was nine months' pregnant lost her unborn baby after she was left unattended at its accident and emergency department for around two hours on March 15.

During this period, the woman and her husband was not informed by medical workers at NUH that there was no bed in the maternity ward and no doctors or nurses went to check on her condition.

NUH has apologised to the couple, publicly stating that the woman's two-hour wait at its emergency unit "should not have been the case".

PROCEDURE AT KKH

In his response to TODAY, Prof Tan explained how KKH's 24-hour urgent obstetrics and gynaecology centre treats patients who require immediate attention.

The centre provides round-the-clock acute care for conditions in early pregnancy (less than 22 weeks of pregnancy), post-pregnancy and those related to acute gynaecological issues.

When a patient arrives at the centre, she will be examined in a process known as a triage where medical workers assess which patients' conditions are the most serious and need to be treated first.

"As conditions may evolve quickly to become more critical, staff will screen and re-triage patients in the waiting area as necessary," Prof Tan said.

"The average waiting time for patients in the middle level of urgency is within 30 minutes."

He explained that patients at risk of a miscarriage will rest on a wheelchair or trolley, or be transferred to a monitoring area. Their vital signs are also monitored.

"During this time, nurses will be at hand to respond and support the patient accordingly." 

In the event that a miscarriage is in progress, staff members will support the patient through the loss process, including performing ultrasound scans to ensure that there are no significant retained products of conception — tissue that remains in the womb after a pregnancy ends.

"Should a pregnancy loss occur beyond the first trimester, the pregnant woman would be offered admission to KKH’s inpatient wards for monitoring," Prof Tan added.

"Patients are always given a choice to claim the foetus and they would need to endorse their decision via a form."

Foetuses that are unclaimed will be taken to the hospital’s mortuary for burial or cremation, based on the patient’s choice, and will not be discarded as medical waste.