Pregnant patients contacted by Portsmouth NHS Trust over 'error' from tests

The trust, which includes Queen Alexandra Hospital in Cosham, has written to patients with gestational diabetes regarding a possible error in the amount of glucose given to them during glucose tolerance tests.

Gestational diabetes is diabetes that can develop during pregnancy. It affects women who haven't been affected by diabetes before and means they have high blood sugar and need to take extra care.

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A post on Instagram said: ‘Portsmouth NHS Trust have contacted patients diagnosed with gestational diabetes regarding a possible error in the amount of glucose given during glucose tolerance tests.’

The post added: ‘With more than 75 carbs being given some patients may have had a false positive diagnosis.’

People affected by this will be contacted by letter.

Lynn Woolley, the trust’s director of maternity services and midwifery, said: ‘We became aware in January that over a significant period of time, there was an error in the volume of a glucose drink given for testing for gestational diabetes. The increased amount of sugar in the larger volume, while not harmful to mother or baby, might have been enough for some women to test positive for gestational diabetes and therefore be placed on the care pathway for the condition.

‘The pathway includes increased monitoring during pregnancy with more scans, regular finger-prick blood testing each day by the women and initial blood sugar monitoring of the babies at birth. Some women may also have had an earlier induction of labour, but this is less likely because, if not affected by gestational diabetes, their blood sugars would have been stable throughout the remaining part of pregnancy and therefore not requiring earlier intervention (unless for another reason).

‘Our specialist diabetes team offered reviews to all women who were still pregnant at the time the error was discovered and we have now also written to women whose previous pregnancies may have been directly impacted by the diagnosis. We sincerely apologise for the anxiety this testing error may cause. As soon as the issue came to light, a full investigation was launched at PHU by an experienced team to look at how the error occurred, how many patients may have been affected and if anyone was harmed as a result of a false-positive test result. In terms of this being likely to happen again, the service took immediate steps to eliminate the risk by moving to a different glucose drink, where one full bottle equals one correct dose.

‘If parents, past or present, have any concerns and would like to speak to a member of staff at the hospital, please [email protected] for further advice and support.’

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