Mother devastated after remains of baby left by bed at Birmingham Women's Hospital
A mother has told of her devastation after the remains of her miscarried baby were left inside a plastic bag at the foot of her hospital bed.
Sarah Howard attended Birmingham Women's Hospital to have a procedure to remove the foetus after suffering a miscarriage.
After the trauma the 33-year-old had elected to have the surgery because she did not want to see the remains of her baby.
But after being sent back to a ward to recover she went to get a blanket to cover herself up and discovered her baby's remains inside the plastic bag.
"It was literally in a bag at the bottom of my bed," said Miss Howard, who lives with her partner Brett Wilkinson, in Woodgate Valley, near Halesowen.
"I took it to one of the nurses and she snatched it off me and took it away. The nurses were all horrified that it happened."
The couple discovered they were expecting in July.
Mr Wilkinson, aged 43, said: "She knew straight away what it was. She could see the head. The baby didn't have a sex yet because it was too early into the pregnancy, but it was still our child."
Barmaid Miss Howard first became concerned when she was seven weeks pregnant after she discovered she was bleeding.
A scan was carried out and she was told that the bleeding would slow down and there was nothing to worry about.
Miss Howard then went to Birmingham Women's Hospital on August 4, where she was told she had miscarried.
She added: "I can't forgive the hospital for leaving the remains there like that."
A spokesman for the Birmingham Women's NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are incredibly sorry for what has happened and the distress this has inevitably caused.
"We cannot begin to understand how our patient feels. We are doing everything we can to support her and her family.
"Clearly we cannot take back what has happened but the very fact that our high standards of patient care appear to have fallen short on this occasion is of concern to everyone at the hospital and something we take very seriously.
"Senior staff and a director have personally met the patient and we have launched an immediate investigation to find out what happened and to ensure that it never happens again.
"We have also provided initial written feedback to the patient and reiterated our offer of support. At this stage it is inappropriate to comment further."
