Picture of University Hospital Lewisham (Stock image)
(Picture: Google Maps)A south London woman who had a late miscarriage had to keep her baby’s remains in her fridge because A&E staff allegedly said they could not store them.
Laura Brody and her partner Lawrence spoke of their anguish after being sent home by staff at University Hospital Lewisham to await a bed after being told their baby had no heartbeat but there were no beds available to give birth.
The hospital has now launched an investigation into the case.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Brody said she gave birth at home two days later in extreme pain in their bathroom. She told the broadcaster: “And it was then,” she told the broadcaster, “I saw it was a boy”. Ms Brody was four months into her pregnancy.
The couple said they dialled 999 but were told it wasn’t an emergency, so they placed their baby’s remains in a Tupperware box and went to the hospital’s A&E.
“We were put in the general waiting room and told to sit at the back,” Laura said.
“I was there holding my baby in a tupperware box, crying, with 20 or 30 other people in that waiting room.”
Eventually, Laura said, after a long wait, she was told she would need surgery to remove the placenta.
During that time, the couple say, their baby remained in the box in the A&E department, with staff saying there was nowhere safe to store him.
The couple said no-one at the hospital would even look at their baby or acknowledge what had happened, as it would mean taking charge.
As it got close to midnight, they decided they had had no option but for Lawrence to take their baby’s remains home.
He said: “I took a tupperware box containing my baby’s remains home from hospital in a taxi, cleared up some space in our fridge and put the box in there”.
A spokesperson for Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, which runs the hospital, told the Standard: “We are deeply sorry and offer our sincerest condolences to Ms Brody and her partner for the tragic loss of their baby and these traumatic experiences.
“A full investigation is underway to understand where failings in care may have occurred so that any necessary changes and improvements can be made.”
The couple’s story is featured in a BBC documentary, called Miscarriage: The Search for Answers.
