Article in news paper about Scans....

[fynemum]

Hello Ladies
I posted a wee while back about standards of care in Scotland.. and i was wondering if anyone else saw the article in the Express today?
it talks about Scotland's shame of post code lottery with Scans..... Also says that many woman are having to pay £200 for scans they should get FREE...@20-22wks.

How a law was passed 3 YEARS ago stating EVERY mum to be HAD to Have the second Scan...... Well i am glad it's made the papers.. heres hoping it makes a difference.... very interesting article..... authorities claim shortages but Government SAY there's NOT.. also NHS say there's NOT .... so WHY? ? ?

OK Rant over AGAIN... Lv Yvonne xx

 

[Baileysmummy]

 

[frangelle]

It is disgraceful

 

[frangelle]

It's worrying... you get a scan at 12 weeks then nothing else.

Surely that can be dangerous for mother and/or baby? I mean the 20 week scan finds out more than the sex of the baby, it shows up all sorts of abnormalities and problems? How have they been getting away with it?!!

 

[NIE]

I didn't see the article either, but I am from the same area as CalamityGem and I am having to pay £79 at babybond to get a gender and general wellbeing scan. It is shocking.

 

[Nicola]

I would have thought by not scanning around the 20 week marker they are doing more harm than good. The 20 week scan isn't designed to tell you boy or girl (although it's great they can!!) but it's there to check for so many abnormalities, i.e say the spine is exposed by an area not covered in skin, what if there was fluid on the skull or the kidneys were not functioning - that's why a 20 week scan is a MUST it's not to find out gender (thats a bonus) it's there to safeguard mum and baby and hense why the abortion age is 24 weeks, to allow mum's who have just recieved the most horrific news to make informed decisions, it's possible for the baby to form minus a brain say so it would be aborted on medical grounds instead of mum going through another 20 weeks then giving birth to an instantly dead baby - you should get a 20 week scan. I'm glad that's made your papers up there today - insist you get one now or that they refund a private wellbeing scan...you should have more care than 1 scan. 2 is standard is most countries worldwide now.

 

I asked my m/w for a detailed, 20 week scan. she said that she would put in the request at the hospital, but that she thought it was "unlikely" that i'd get one. A few days later, my appointment came through - I get my scan on Wednesday

One tip about dealing with the medical profession- you cannot "demand" any kind of treatment: although it should be provided free of charge, we as patients cannot really challenge how resources are allocated (although of course that's changing due to case law on things like fertility treatment, gnder realignment etc under human rights legislation). So forget "demands".

Bear in mind that the medical profession think in terms of "liability" of the NHS Trusts (and, in the case of individual practicitioners, on their own professional registration). If something goes wrong, then they can be found liable for negligence (or professional misconduct).

Anyway - if you ask to be referred (or for a second opinion) for ANY treatment and that request (not "demand") is refused, then if something later transpires to be wrong after they have refused that reasonable request, then they are leaving themselves open to liability and they don't want that!

What I'd recommend, girls, is that next time you see your M/Ws (or make an appointment if, like me, you only see her every 6-10 weeks!), ask them sweetly to be referred for a 20 week scan. If necessary, make up some vague story about your brother/sister-in-law/mother-in-law having e.g. a bowel/heart/whatever problem and that you're a bit concerned about the baby inheriting such a "defect". They might ask you what the problem is, but just say you're not sure, but that your mother-in-law said you should mention that your husband or his brother/sistercousins had bowel/heart problems as a baby And don't worry about them checking your story - they do not ask for personal details because, due to patient confidentiality issues, they are not going to get the fictional bowel/heart problems in the medical records of the said sister/cousin/brother out to look at to catch you out

If the MW tries to dismiss your request for a scan, say firmly that you'd like her to write on your notes that you requested a detailed scan and that she refused to refer you. This should prompt her into a rethink. If not, ask her if there is anyone else that you could make your request to, if she is refusing to refer you. Persistence is key here, but hopefully, the m/w will refer you straight away.

I know, it's kind of "cheating", but if you feel "cheated" out of the same care as your counterparts in other parts of the UK (yet are paying the same in national insurance contributions), don't you think you're entitled? It's awful that we have to be made to invent some vague story about needing a detailed scan - and normally I wouldn't advocate "lying" - but I also think that there should be a way round an unfair health system which makes antenatal care a postcode lottery and this is my suggestion.

This is not us "cheating" the NHS out of money, but reclaiming what is fairly ours, as a right, as pregnant - SCOTTISH - women. It's a disgrace that we have to, but we don't make the rules.

Please let us know if you use this tactic and how you get on.

 

I think the above should read, 'gender reassignment' not 'realignment'!

 

[Anna B]

great advice there Wendy, a 20 week scan is a must in my opinion!!

 

Hi Anna,

Good to see you still here. I sent you a PM in reply to yours last week. Hope you got it (they've gone astray before)?

xxx

 

[frangelle]

I think the above should read, 'gender reassignment' not 'realignment'!

 

[valentine]

I have to agree with all the above ladies - I paid £150 at 21 weeks for my private anomaly scan - money I very much begrudged paying as friends who live in Fife and other areas of Scotland were getting theirs for free. It is a necessity and a right, in my opinion.

Valentine xxx

 

[fynemum]

Thank you for all the opinions ladies....

BIG THANK YOU TO OUR LAW TEACHER WENDY ! ! !

you got to love that lady... full of very useful advice and support ! !

Thank you wendy.. i will try this although my planned MW appointment isnt until 17th july... do you think they might tell me it's too late by then?

Lv Yvonne xx

 

[mrs_tommo22]

It's worrying... you get a scan at 12 weeks then nothing else.

Surely that can be dangerous for mother and/or baby? I mean the 20 week scan finds out more than the sex of the baby, it shows up all sorts of abnormalities and problems? How have they been getting away with it?!!

Its disgusting and I know someone in fife whos baby died of a heart problem that could of been detected at the 20 week scan.When he was born no one knew and he died in her arms at home 3 days later.
Im glad it has been bought to the papers, more lives can be saved this way.
If we can afford it in some areas of england then the NHS should cough up money for you mummies in scotland

 

[weenik]

I wasn't aware that some areas in Scotland didn't get the 20 week scan. Where I stay 12 wk & 20 wk are standard (if you want them). I must be lucky in that I live in a part of Scotland where I have had absolutely no complaints about the NHS care that I've received. I wish it was the same for everyone

 

Yvonne,

I'm not sure if they'd say 24 weeks was "too late" for an anomaly scan, probably not, although they do prefer it up to 22 weeks so that the baby isn't too big to get a clear picture of everything. It's probably also to do with the fact that the measurements they use are all based on "averages" of babies at a certain number of weeks? You can make an antenatal appointment with your m/w before your next appointment is due if there is something specific that you wish to discuss (i.e. like your need for a detailed scan!). Or simply 'phone her up and ask her to refer you for a scan.

When I had my scan today, the sonographer didn't ask why I was there. I mentioned to him my partner's family history of heart problems and that my mum's first baby died of a bowel blockage shortly after birth, but he just said he would check absolutely everything anyway.

I've since read on the internet that some problems, e.g. bowel blockages or some heart defects cannot be detected until later in pregnancy (third trimester) anyway, so perhaps it's best just to wait until your next m/w appointment.

Nothing can really allay our fears 100%. even when the babies arrive, we'll still be worried!

Have you started to feel your LO yet, Yvonne? I panicked that mine was a bit quieter than usual the last few days and got the doppler out It's just never-ending - the anxiety!

 

[fynemum]

Hi Wendy....

Well! ! ! Were do i start? ? ?

I left the midwife phone number with my mum, she is relentless and she called and called until she got through to one of them....

The midwife was SO so cheeky to my mum....and my mum is a polite lady too... she tried to explain my fears and get me an appointment before 17th july, just to make sure baby was ok...

I have been having some really sore stabbing pains and not feeling much movement... also being a bit smaller that should be etc....

MW told my mum" it's all a UTI and there's nothing they can do!!!... Mum said she wants reassurance all is well.... MW responded by saying i should go to my GP

My mum was 'MAD' I went straight to hers from work at 3;30....She was so upset at the attitude.... she insisted I call the hospital and explain EVERYTHING! so i did....

the hospital was GREAT! told me to come straight over... had a feel, then put on a doppler.....

I HEARD HEART BEAT! ! ! ! I CRIED ! ! ! Mum cried... MW/nurse cried.. it was Soooo good! ! !" I was So happy....

I got another blood work done... and more urine took....

Yes i have pain due to renal problems but also i a more than just a little tender to touch down at my lower abdominals...

But Baby is FINE ! ! and moving although not as much fluid..... I got told to really up my fluid intake.... Take paracetamol for the pain.... and come straight to them if i have ANY further stabbing pains, blood loss, or anxieties... They couldn't have been nicer! ! They read all my notes and said i was to just bypass the midwife.... go for the routine weights, BP, etc..but go straight to them for anything else! they even wrote it on my notes!!!

I am so much happier.. but complaints will still be processed.. including my mum complaining about attitude... My mum worked as a doctors receptionist for years and couldn't believe it...

Thank you for asking! ! Read your post about detailed scan so i have posted there too..... will copy paste some of this and update my saga... Thank you for the support!!
Lv Yvonne xx

 

Yvonne,

Thank goodness for your Mum! The reason I get so annoyed - and urge others to be more persistent with health professionals - is that my own mum lost her first baby unnecessarily because a nurse totally dismissed her fears about her newborn and my mum was too shy to challenge her.

You and your baby are far too precious to be at the mercy of some lackadaisical m/w - remember that. Don't take any chances whatsoever with this little miracle of yours. You've already been through the mill with losing your other babies: this time, make sure you and your baby get the proper care you need, even if you have to keep on and on until you get it.

Anyway, it sounds as if, through your mum, you're finally getting the care you should. Thank goodness! I agree with your mum. She should make a complaint, but really, the complaint should also come from you, the patient. You might want to click on this link and print off this leaflet (it tells you how to complain about a m/w in Scotland).

http://www.nmc-uk.org/aDisplayDocument.aspx?DocumentID=2230

Imagine if we have our babies on the same day? No, that's no good, we're each others' text buddies - how would that work?

 

P.S. Yvonne,

I have been having a lot of lower abdominal pain too. Last week, I was shopping with my eldest and the pains were making it hard to talk for a moment or two each time and I struggled back to the car. It was frightening (not because the pain was too much to cope with) but because you panic that something is wrong/whether you're going to go into premature labour

I've had a bit more pain and feel quite tender just above my pubic area today. I had a chat about this with my cousin today (who had a baby a couple of months ago) and she said she had lots of this type of pain from about 20 weeks and thought it was Braxton Hicks contractions (I only had them about a week before my second child was born). Other people on this site have been getting a lot of abdominal pain from around 15 weeks and it's just ligaments stretching. None of the books really warn you (and if you've had kids, you soon forget) about these types of pain in pregnancy. But Yvonne, please try not to worry, most of us are having the same pains - although you will probably also be in pain due to your renal problems, as you say.

As for the fluid - this is perhaps why you can't feel your baby so much. If you have lots of fluid, your baby can be spinning sommersaults and kicking around freely, but less fluid is going to restrict his/her movements more. So get drinking gallons of water

So, have you just to go to Wishaw whenever you need to now? I hope so and I hope that you will take advantage of their offer to reassure you whenever necessary.

xxx