Miscarriage Care and Facilities in Scotland: Scoping Report NHS Lothian

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 that 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.

Both sites in NHS Lothian reported that they provide all management options on site except for surgical management with manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) with local anaesthetic which is not offered in either site (Table 15).

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.

Both sites in NHS Lothian stated that the same pathway of care for miscarriage treatment is used across all available departments on each site. All miscarriage guidelines are available on the intranet for the Health Board to aid decision for referral.

Written Information about management of miscarriage or what to expect next is currently provided at both St John’s Hospital and Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Similarly, written information about mental health was provided to all women at both sites and bereavement support is provided to all women at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh and to most women at St John’s Hospital (Table 13).

Information about management options

As well as written information, St John’s Hospital strongly agreed that what will happen during, after and in terms of follow-up after the management of miscarriage was explained to women. Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh agreed that what will happen after the chosen method of management of miscarriage is explained fully to women and neither agreed or disagreed that what will happen during and in terms of follow-up after the chosen method of management is fully explained to women (Table 14).