A hospital has apologised after sending a shocked mum-to-be home with another pregnant mother’s baby scan images.
Izzie Southby had her 20-week ultrasound at William Harvey Hospital in Ashford on January 9 but was handed the other woman’s pictures.
The 22-year-old, who lives in the town, was devastated after the highly intimate moment was ruined, especially with this being her final scan available on the NHS.
“To me, when it’s my first pregnancy, it’s quite gut-wrenching, like ‘that’s not my baby that I’ve got photos of’,” she said.
“My partner and I got in the car, on the way home I was reading the names, because they print your name and date of birth on the scan photos, and it wasn’t my name and date of birth on there.
“I now have (the other mum’s) full name, date of birth and everything, it’s a data breach and to be given someone else’s scan photos is a kick in the chest for both of us.
“These were the last photos I was going to have of my baby.”
Ms Southby explained she has since received the correct images and has helped reunite the wrong pictures with their rightful owner.
But she expressed disappointment at how the hospital’s patient liaison service handled the upsetting matter.
The soon-to-be-mum says when she complained she was coldly asked for the other woman’s details without so much as a sorry.
It prompted her to share a warning message on social media about her experience, triggering others to speak out with similar stories
Izzie told KentOnline: “A couple of people in the comments have shared that they also had the same experience, or they’ve had a bad experience, just in general, with the whole labour team or the whole midwifery team.
“They were quite busy, I think they were a bit overworked that day.
“But it seems there’s always something going wrong in that department.”
However, after KentOnline contacted East Kent Hospital Trusts (EKHT) – the authority responsible for the hospital – Izzie received an apology and was told a probe would be launched into the incident.
An EKHT spokesperson told KentOnline: “We apologise to the two families involved.
“The matter is being looked into, and we would welcome the opportunity to discuss their concerns.”
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