A mum-of-four has said she feels let down by hospital staff after remains of her unborn baby were found in her body seven months after she miscarried.
Ericka Hall suffered a miscarriage the day before she was supposed to go in for her 12-week scan in March.
She was checked over by staff at the Royal Stoke Hospital University Hospital before being discharged.
But when the 38-year-old got home she knew “something was wrong” as she kept bleeding and “passing out”.
A procedure followed to remove material from her uterus that still remained following the pregnancy.
But months later Ericka was back in excruciating pain and left needing keyhole surgery, Stoke-on-TrentLive reports.
Now the stay-at-home mum, from Burslem, wants answers from the Royal Stoke.
She said: “I found out I had miscarried the day before my scan. I went to the hospital. I was getting pain and they said it could be an implantation or infection.
“I went home. I was still bleeding a lot. I kept passing out, I knew something was wrong.
“My partner called an ambulance. They took me to the Royal Stoke, I had tests and they put me on fluids and I ended up having a blood transfusion.
“Later that night a doctor took me in a room, examined me, and took the rest of the baby contents out. I was released the day after thinking all would be okay.”
Ericka said she felt fine until a few months later, when she started to feel unwell.
She added: “I thought I had an infection. I started having some pain.
“I had a urine test done at the doctors, and nothing came back on that. Then the pain got really bad, I was struggling to get out of bed and to sleep. I couldn’t put up with it any more so I went to the hospital. I went three times in 14 days.
“They just kept fobbing me off. Eventually they took me in and did a scan and found a cyst on my ovary. They said there were still some remains of the baby there from March.
“It has caused my appendix to play up and I had to have keyhole surgery to remove it.”
Ericka, who lives with partner John Holton and has four sons aged 21, 11, eight and six, says she feels let down by the hospital.
“I feel angry about it,” she said. “Why didn’t they check after the miscarriage that all the contents had gone?
“They shouldn’t just send someone home and seven months later you are still carrying the remains of your unborn baby.
“I wouldn’t wish the pain I was in on my worst enemy, it was horrible.”
Ericka now has to go back to the hospital for an appointment in the gynaecology department.
The Royal Stoke has encouraged Ericka to contact the Patient Advice and Liaison Team so her concerns can be investigated.
Deputy Chief Nurse Scott Malton told Stoke-on-TrentLive: “We are very sorry to hear of Ericka’s situation. It is always our aim to deliver the highest standards of care possible.
“We do take any complaint or concerns raised by patients or their families very seriously and we would encourage Ericka to let us know and speak to the Patient Advice and Liaison Team who can investigate and provide support.”