'We had no help': Woman shares story of miscarrying at B.C. hospital

A Penticton, B.C., woman says hospital staff left her alone for hours before her miscarriage, and she couldn't find anyone to answer her cries for help.

Speaking from what was supposed to be her baby's nursery, the woman, who asked to be referred to by the pseudonym Sara, told the story of how she arrived at Penticton Regional Hospital on the night of Sept. 3, only to be left waiting.

"I was obviously having contractions," Sara said in an interview with Castanet News. "At that point we knew we would probably miscarry our son, but we had no help."

There was no help, she said, despite her midwife calling ahead and warning staff she was coming and that the outlook wasn't good. Sara said she waited for an hour-and-a-half in an empty waiting room before being told she could miscarry in a bathroom.

Fighting back tears, Sara explained: "I was just standing there in the bathroom by the wheelchair with my son hanging out of me and we had no help."

When she did get a room, Sara says she waited again – this time covered in blood and with only her partner by her side as she delivered the afterbirth.

Sara continued, "There was no human decency, there was no emotion, no sorry for my loss."

Sara's story was shared in the B.C. legislature Thursday as the latest example of a health-care system in crisis. A shortage of staff, burnt out nurses and doctors, and long waits at emergency rooms are plaguing hospitals.

Responding to a question about the incident, Health Minister Adrian Dix said: "Obviously, in a case such as this, the grief, the sense of loss of individuals is profound. Every time this occurs — every time this occurs — we need to review and make the system better."

Shirley Bond, Liberal MLA and health critic, said when she heard about the story, she almost couldn't finish reading it. Yet, she told CTV News, she felt it was important.

"From my perspective, this is just one case. Day after day we hear how difficult it is for people to get the care they need and deserve," Bond added.

In a statement, Interior Health's Jonathan Clare, interim executive director for clinical operations, community and acute for the South Okanagan, apologized for Sara's experience, although the statement doesn't name her directly. He added the patient care quality office is looking into her concerns and would report back in 40 business days.

Sara has filed an official complaint, and said she wants to highlight her experience so other women don't have to go through a similar experience alone.

"I'm doing this for my son, and the other women out there who didn't feel like they could speak up."