A UK teenager lost her baby just hours after hospital staff turned her away because they didn't believe she was actually giving birth, an inquest has found.
Nineteen-year-old Elise Flitcroft had called an ambulance and arrived at Royal Bolton Hospital in severe pain, but rather than admitting her, midwife Rukaiya Jamadar berated her for using an ambulance.
Ms Jamadar allegedly told Ms Flitcroft she'd wasted taxpayer money by using an ambulance, sarcastically asking the pregnant woman, "Do you know that taxi has just cost us £300?"
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Once an examination had been completed by a gynaecologist, Ms Jamadar told Ms Flitcroft, who at this stage was 23 weeks-pregnant, she probably just had a urinary infection.
She was sent home, but Ms Flitcroft had a breach birth on her bathroom floor less than three hours after the hospital visit, and despite being rushed back, the baby died in an incubator a matter of hours later.
Last week, the Coroner described Ms Jamadar's remark as "an extraordinarily insensitive thing to say to any patient".
Ms Flitcroft later said Ms Jamadar was "very arrogant and dismissive" despite her being in "severe pain" and feeling "very vulnerable".
Following the inquest, the hospital issued an apology to Ms Flitcroft, the baby's father McCauley Tatlock and the wider family.
"We are deeply sorry that our midwife may have caused distress during this difficult time," the statement read.
"I can assure you it is not policy, nor was it a directive to staff, that women in labour should be discouraged from using ambulances to attend hospital.
"Our midwife has apologised to the family for her comments, and lessons have been learnt for the future."
The hospital also said it was not its policy for pregnant women to be discouraged from using an ambulance.
Newshub.
