To Be Annoyed About This?

[midori1999]

I had a very complicated pregnancy which ended on 30th April this year. I gave birth to twin girls, but sadly neither survived. The waters around twin 1 had broken at 14+5 weeks.

I saw my consultant on 4th August for a review appointment. I told him we were TTC again, and in fact, I was waiting for either my period or a positive pregnancy test then. He took some swabs for infection and chlamydia (the latter exceptionally unlikely, but can be a cause of premature rupture of membranes, so I wanted to be tested on the off chance as I know it can be symtomless for absolutely years). We both felt this would rule things out and ease my worry if I were pregnant or to get pregnant. The consultant said I would recieve the results in a couple of weeks.

Well, it is now three weeks later and still no results. I rang the consultant's secretary to chase up this morning, and apparently one lot of results are back, one aren't. The consultant is away until next week, so I won't here back until then.

I do appreciate that he has to have his holidays, but if I have an infection or something it could potentially end my pregnancy when it is something easily treated. I'm also wondering if the swabs are taking so long to come back, does that mean there is something wrong? The only time previous swabs have taken this long is when they were positive.

AIBU to expect to know what is going on and recieve the appropriate treatment ASAP?

Firstly, I'm sorry for your loss.

Secondly, don't panic about the missing results - I once had to wait 3 months for the results of a smear test. Needless to say I was thinking the worst, but it was simply inefficiency of the highest order! Hopefully you will hear back next week and everything will be fine.

Was it a BFP, rather than a late period? If so, congratulations! Here's to a long, boring pregnancy!

I'm so sorry about your girls.
It's probably bebause the consultant is on holiday that you are still waiting. It must be so frustrating for you. Hope you get some news soon.

No, you are not being unreasonable. The hospital does not grind to a halt because the consultant is away - he should have a senior registrar who could assess your lab results and prescribe appropriate treatment. He will also have junior staff who would be more than capable of chasing up the missing/delayed results for you.

If one of his patients goes into labour now, and needs the attentions of a senior doctor, they won't have to wait until he gets back from his holiday to deliver their baby - either his registrar will step in, or another consultant will deputise for him!

Given what happened to you this year, the hospital ought to be doing far more to help you and support you as you try to concieve again, and I do not think that they are providing anywhere near a reasonable standard of care for you, midori.

I would suggest you phone the secretary again, and ask to speak to the senior registrar, or ask that the senior registrar looks at your results and rings you back. Make it clear that you know that the consultant has a team of junior doctors, and indeed that the hospital does have other doctors who presumeably would be capable of interpreting your results in the consultant's absence. I assume that the consultant is not the only member of staff at the hospital authorised to use a telephone or speak to a patient.

Sorry if I am ranting, I am getting very angry on your behalf.

Hello, very sorry to hear about your loss earlier this year. I hope your next pregnancy goes well.

I have no experience of this from a patient's point of view but I have worked in a GP surgery for 15 years and delayed results is a situation we hear about more often than it should.

Can I suggest you ring your GP surgery and ask the admin staff to ring the lab for the results? Where I work, we have done this many times for patients who cannot get results through the consultants. The GPs are used to it and will be able to put your mind at rest and prescribe appropriate treatment if necessary.

Good luck.

Bug them and bug them and bug them until you get your results! Don't put up with being fobbed off.

We had 3 MCs and then went through loads of tests... they lost blood samples, some of the results, and took three months to tell us they'd lost things. All the while we'd been waiting before TTC again in case there was a problem. In the end we said sod it and TTC. Got pregnant, then went to hospital and discovered some of the results were actually not lost, but other tests which they had lost now couldn't be done because I was pregnant. I spent loads of the early part of the pregnancy wondering if I'd MC again because I didn't have all my results and so didn't know why the others had gone wrong.

All because they messed up and didn't even bother to tell us until I complained.

So keep pushing until you get a decent explanation and time frame for when you'll get them back.

But I agree - don't panic until you get the results. In my experience, if there's nothing bad from the tests then they don't bother to pass it on, only if it's a problem and then they do act quickly.

Thankyou for the replies. I think I am overly worried as I don't actually have that much confidence in the consultant anyway. He won't be my consultant for this pregnancy though, as I am now considered higher risk, so need to see someone more specialist.

I was brave and rang back the secretary. Apparently my consultant only deals with his results himself, not his registrars. Apparently also, although they are not allowed to give results over the phone (Or the secretary isn't) she did say my consultant was in for an extra clinic yesterday and has seen my results. She did say therefore that if I haven't heard anything, it usually means there is no problem. She seems to think had there been a problem it would have been acted upon quickly. She also said she will chase up the rest of the results this week.

I feel slightly better, but still wonder if I have just been fobbed off...