Review into why pregnant woman moved hospitals three times while in pain

Health authorities will review the care received by a pregnant Adelaide woman who was moved between three hospitals while experiencing "stabbing pain" before she required emergency delivery of her baby and an operation to repair a twisted bowel.

Kaitlin Jagu has received an apology from a senior health official after she said she received inadequate pain relief, and eventually lost consciousness in a hospital bathroom.

After experiencing abdominal pain on Tuesday, October 13, a 30-week Ms Jagu contacted Triple Zero (000) with the help of a colleague.

An SA Ambulance Service spokesperson said the patient was taken to the nearest hospital, the Royal Adelaide Hospital, as Ms Jagu's condition "was not initially considered to be directly related to her pregnancy".

"While at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, the patient was further assessed and redirected to the Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH)," the spokesperson said.

Ms Jagu told 891 ABC Adelaide while at the WCH, staff did tests "to determine the baby was OK".

She said she was then taken to the Flinders Medical Centre (FMC), which was the only Adelaide hospital equipped to treat pregnant women with medical conditions that are not related to their pregnancy.

"There is only one hospital in this state that has the specialist expertise to look after sick pregnant women, and problems in the mum, and that is Flinders Medical Centre," Southern Adelaide Local Health Network executive director of medical services, Diana Lawrence, told 891 ABC Adelaide.

An emergency C-section

Throughout her transfers between hospitals, Ms Jagu experienced what she described as "burning, stabbing, consistent pain, shooting from my sternum down past my belly button".

Ms Jagu said when she arrived at FMC in the middle of the night, she was kept in an airlock room with a green whistle – a pain relief device – before being taken for tests. 

She said FMC staff had tried to find the cause of her pain after first determining her unborn baby was safe.

Ms Jagu said when she tried to provide a urine sample, she passed out in the bathroom.

The woman said her loss of consciousness put her baby into distress, prompting an emergency caesarean section. 

She said after her baby was delivered, doctors found her pain was caused by a twisted bowel, which was fixed during the surgery.

Lack of communication

Ms Jagu said she had "an amazing experience within the birthing and assessment suite" and that nurses and midwives "did everything in their power to make me feel comfortable and safe". 

But, she said the lack of communication to her, or her family, as officials tried to ascertain the cause of her pain were "big red flags". 

"I'd want just clearer answers and better communication, and just an understanding of what was happening and what the next steps would be," she said.

"Although lots of things were happening in the background, it wasn't delivered to me. It was just very vague of 'this is what we need to do, wait and see'.

"Also, a clearer way to escalate concerns when a patient or their family feels that the situation is getting worse and we're not getting the answers that we need in the moment."

Dr Lawrence said she has since met with Ms Jagu to discuss her concerns, and that hospital and ambulance officials would convened for a review today.

"I apologised to her, absolutely, for a few things," Dr Lawrence said.

"Her pain relief wasn't managed adequately, but also apologised to her because we don't have many single rooms here at Flinders and they often have infectious patients.

"She actually was put into a bay, a mixed gender bay which is what we never want to do with [pregnant] women, and we rapidly put her into a side room as soon as one was available."

Ms Jagu said it was "great" the health authorities were addressing the issues she raised but she would like see change.