Scottish COVID-19 inquiry Impact hearing| Health and social care|10 May 2024 (afternoon session)

Disturbing testimony from Aimee Watt who suffered a missed miscarriage during lockdown.

Warning: contains details of an extremely harrowing nature.

Introduction/lockdown

This afternoon session was dedicated to Ms Aimee Watt. Aimee got married in October 2019 and wanted to immediately start a family. In April 2020 just several weeks into the first lockown Aimee had a positive pregnancy test.

In week six of the pregnancy Aimee experienced some bleeding. Amy was told by the NHS as she was likely pregnant this placed her in a high-risk category in relation to COVID-19. This made her anxious and reclusive. Not a healthy state for any would be mother.

Over the next few weeks Amy had an increase in bleeding with cramps and was concerned something was wrong. Other than two faint at home positive pregnancy tests bought from a shop even in May 2020 Aimee was still unable to get a confirmatory scan from the NHS due to the lockdown restrictions.

Private care vs NHS

Aimee and her husband decided to opt for private care.

‘‘This was simply because we did not feel like we were getting a very good level of care from the NHS midwives that we had been dealing with until this point. I wasn't getting any kind of reassurance and all the times I had been phoning, nobody had ever phoned me back to check in and ask how things were going. There was just nothing.’’ (paragraph 21 of statement)

Tragically, Aimee was told after the scan results she had suffered a missed miscarriage.

Flushed down the toilet

After opting for pills at home due to NHS lockdown restrictions and fear of COVID Aimee was informed by the NHS that the ‘medical management’ would mean her baby would be ‘‘flushed down the toilet’’.

Unsatisfactory NHS care

Aimee went back to the NHS for further scans and checks but her experience was far from satisfactory.

‘‘When i was upset they never even offered me a tissue…

.they kept calling it the pregnancy they didn’t refer to it at all as my baby…

…it was very distanced from what i was experiencing.’’

’’I just felt me and my baby were not deserving of any care.’’

Funeral

In this very harrowing segment Aimee explains how she was not able to have a cremation and funeral for her baby unlike other mothers.

‘‘It’s horriffic to expect that a baby should be flushed down the toilet and that’s normal.’’

Concluding remarks

In her concluding remarks Ms.Watt explains how the lack of care she received from NHS maternity services in lockdown has effected her more than the miscarriage itself.

• The good news is Aimee eventually became a mother.

Media turnout

I could find no mainstream media reports of this testimony. This was the press turnout on the day.

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End

Links:

Full video-Youtube-Scottish COVID-19 inquiry-Impact hearing | Health and social care | 10 May 2024 (afternoon session)

Full statement- https://www.covid19inquiry.scot/sites/default/files/ev-documents/sci-wt0242-000001.pdf