If you’ve been following up with the recent National University Hospital (NUH) saga, you’ll know that the latest update showed that the woman who had apparently been left to bleed in NUH’s emergency department for two hours “might not” have suffered a miscarriage in NUH.
If you’re still unsure as to what happened, here’s a quick recap.
Following Facebook user Mee Pok Tah’s now-viral Facebook post about the treatment his pregnant wife experienced while in the emergency department at NUH, NUH conducted investigations regarding the incident.
A few days after his initial post, he wrote this Facebook post, which indicated that NUH had clarified various facts regarding his wife’s condition through a few meetings and that the “matter has been resolved”.
And now, it seems for sure that NUH was not to blame for this particular accident.
Senior Minister of State for Health’s Speech in Parliament
In Parliament yesterday (5 April), Senior Minister of State for Health Janil Puthucheary brought up the investigation that NUH launched and declared that the hospital’s actions were “appropriate” when dealing with a pregnant woman who later allegedly miscarried in NUH’s emergency department.
Although this was so, Dr Puthucheary also highlighted that there were still areas for improvement in hospitals in terms of communication, as well as the coordination between departments when it came to transferring patients from the emergency department to the delivery suite.
He also noted that after NUH carried out its investigations and reviewed its standard protocol, the hospital carried out various measures to improve its current standards.
Dr Puthucheary also mentioned that NUH consulted the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the director of medical services during the investigations and review process.
Issue With Bereaved Couple Resolved
With regards to the bereaved couple and the response from NUS, Dr Puthucheary explained, “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 also offered his condolences to the couple and mentioned that he would not delve into the specific details regarding the incident to protect patient confidentiality, as well as to respect the couple’s request for privacy.
Dr Puthucheary also addressed the measures that will be taken by public hospitals when patients enter their emergency departments.
He highlighted that “COVID-19 has resulted in the public hospitals (emergency departments) facing very high demands”.
“Our healthcare workers have been working continuously to attend to all patients, with COVID-19 and those with non-COVID-19 conditions,” he assured.
“All patients will be triaged based on presenting history, symptoms, and clinical parameters so that those with life-threatening conditions are prioritised. No patient will be denied care.”
Featured Image: Facebook (Mee Pok Tah)