Shane Simons and Rachel Murray are looking forward to the birth of their baby girl.
By Kelly Yates
A COUPLE is counting down the days to the birth of their baby girl.
Shane Simons and Rachel Murray from Pearcedale made headlines in April last year after Ms Murray endured a miscarriage in the waiting room toilet at Casey Hospital in Berwick.
The young couple, who were both 19 at the time, visited the emergency department twice on the same day, waiting for medical care, before Ms Murray, who was 11 weeks pregnant, had a miscarriage in a toilet cubicle.
“I pleaded with the staff to attend to Rachel, we knew something was wrong, but they kept telling me that every emergency was treated the same,” Mr Simons said.
He said his partner should have been given the dignity of a private room.
“If Rachel was going to have a miscarriage, nothing would have changed that, but having to go through it in the waiting room toilet was disgusting,” he said.
“All we wanted was a private room, no-one should have to sit in a cubicle in the waiting room toilet and lose their baby.”
At the time, the operator of Casey Hospital, Southern Health, said a thorough investigation of a recent case of an apparent miscarriage at Casey Hospital determined the woman involved received appropriate clinical care.
Southern Health executive director of acute services Siva Sivarajah said Southern Health sympathised with any woman who experienced miscarriage.
“Miscarriage is a tragic and often traumatic event for women,” Ms Sivarajah said.
“Sadly, approximately 20 to 25 per cent of all pregnancies result in spontaneous miscarriage.”
Mr Simons said they still felt animosity towards Casey Hospital.
“They could have, and should have done better,” he said.
“We’ll never go back there. We got no care and no sympathy.”
Ms Murray told the News this week she was expecting to give birth on the 12 June at Frankston Hospital.
The 20-year-old, who endured three miscarriages last year, said she was ecstatic about the upcoming birth. Mr Simons, 20, said they were now looking forward to life with baby Natalie Rose.
The couple are hoping to tie the knot soon after the birth, with a small wedding surrounded by family and friends.
