Petition to protect people experiencing pregnancy complications or loss from unnecessary distress
Please sign the following petition:
It aims to protect people experiencing pregnancy complications and/or pregnancy loss from unnecessary distress by requiring the NHS to offer a separate space/waiting area for people experiencing this.
Jodie, a Fertility Network ambassador, created the petition after miscarrying very recently following fertility treatment. She says: ‘This has all stemmed from my recent experience where I was placed in a waiting area within the early pregnancy assessment unit with expectant mothers and couples, all happy and cheerful discussing pregnancy scans and pictures, all while I sat bleeding my pregnancy away. I spent two weeks in and out of the hospital and wasn’t ever offered a separate waiting area. I’m aware that patients can always ask for a separate space, however, we don’t always feel brave enough to do so at such a vulnerable time, nor do I feel it is the patient’s responsibility to do so. Many women and couples have had similarly upsetting experiences and all desperately seek the changes I’m fighting for.’
Jodie’s petition is calling for the following:
- Separate NHS areas for people experiencing pregnancy complications/loss
- For the Government to protect people experiencing pregnancy complications and/or pregnancy loss from unnecessary distress by requiring the NHS to offer a separate space/waiting area for people experiencing this.
- For it to be mandatory for the NHS to offer this space at first contact. This could be done by using a code word at arrival for patient appointments, so NHS staff can easily recognise without having to check patient notes (which is often after the patient has already been placed in a general waiting area). Staff can then offer a separate space immediately meaning vulnerable patients are in a safe and comfortable space, free from upsetting triggers while waiting to be seen.
If you have experienced this distressing situation and are happy to share your story with the media (this can be anonymous), please email Catherine at media@fertilitynetworkuk.org with brief details of your situation.
You can sign the petition at: