Miscarriage Care and Facilities in Scotland: Scoping Report NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Miscarriage management and information

The Lancet series on Miscarriage Matters stated that women should be presented with the available evidence about miscarriage management and be free to choose the management approach that suits their needs and preferences.

Choice of management option

All Health Boards in Scotland reported that they ensure women can choose their preferred method of management of miscarriage. However, the geography in Scotland has implications for women in terms of how they can access their chosen approach.

In NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, all management options are available to women who miscarry, but not all options are available in every site (Table 16).

Written information

All Health Boards in Scotland said that they provide written information about the treatment options for the management of miscarriage and what to expect in terms of miscarriage care. However, not all sites where women may present for miscarriage care said that they provide written information on treatment options or what to expect.

All sites in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde stated that the same pathway of care for miscarriage treatment is used across all available departments on each site, although there is some variation in the descriptions provided by each site. All miscarriage guidelines are available for the Health Board to aid in decisions for referral. All five sites reported that they provide written information on the treatment options for the management of miscarriage, what to expect of care and services for mental health and bereavement support following a loss (Table 14).

Information about management options

As well as written information, all sites in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde agreed that information about what will happen during and after the chosen method of management of miscarriage and what happens in terms of follow-up after the management of miscarriage is fully explained to women. However, this was done once the pathway of care for the Health Board had been followed and the patient was at the site that would offer the chosen option of treatment for miscarriage. See Table 15.

Within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, all sites either strongly agreed or agreed that women are provided with full explanations about what would happen during their chosen method of management, after the chosen method of management and in terms of follow-up