WOMEN who have suffered a miscarriage are being "traumatised" by long waiting times for a procedure to clear their womb.

The lead counsellor for a charity which provides emotional support to women who have lost a baby during pregnancy said she was "not surprised" by a Herald report that some women in Scotland are being sent away with antibiotics and asked to wait up to five weeks for an operation to remove the foetus.

Health Secretary Shona Robison is under pressure to make an “urgent statement” to parliament about the situation.

READ MORE: Women who suffer miscarriage are waiting five weeks to have foetus removed

It comes after the case of a woman who required emergency admission to hospital after she haemorrhaged while waiting five weeks for a D&C was highlighted during the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde annual review.

The health board has stressed that the case is unusual and most women wait no more than two weeks.

However, Maureen Sharkey, managing counsellor for Glasgow-based Scottish Care and Information on Miscarriage, said she was seeing “more and more” cases of mothers waiting a long time for the procedure, known as dilation and curettage (D&C). The waits have been blamed on staff shortages.

Ms Sharkey said: "What I've noticed in the counselling room is that women are much more traumatised than they used to be and I've been doing this work for 25 years. Long waiting time certainly does not assist in making a better recovery.

"I'm not saying it happens in every single case, but what I would say is I'm seeing more and more cases in here for counselling where have been waiting for a long time. I'm hearing it more frequently than I used to and I find that alarming.

"I've certainly had people come in who've waited for five weeks, or a couple of weeks, or they've been sent to another hospital somewhere else. It's becoming more common for me to hear that."

Around half of the charity's clients come from the Glasgow area, but Ms Sharkey said she had also been contacted by patients facing long waits in northern Scotland.

READ MORE: Women who suffer miscarriage are waiting five weeks to have foetus removed

Years ago, Ms Sharkey said women were routinely offered the procedure immediately or within 24 hours.

Shadow Health Secretary, Miles Briggs, said: "Many people across Scotland will have been deeply shocked and upset to learn that some women who have experienced a miscarriage are waiting up to five weeks for the surgical procedure to evacuate their womb. This is simply unacceptable and the risks to women’s physical and mental health are significant."

Mr Briggs has written to Shona Robison asking her to brief MSPs on the situation this week.

Labour leadership candidate Richard Leonard added: “I cannot imagine the distress that these women have gone through. It really is beyond the pale that they have had the trauma of a miscarriage yet are being made to wait up to five weeks for the care they need."

A spokeswoman for NHS GGC: "The current standard within Greater Glasgow and Clyde is that women experiencing a miscarriage who choose surgical management are offered this within a two week timeframe and attend hospital as day case patients.

"The timeframe for treatment will be influenced by the duration of the pregnancy ?and the specific clinical situation."

She added that patients could also choose an alternative outpatient surgery under local anaesthetic, which is currently being delivered within seven days.

READ MORE: Women who suffer miscarriage are waiting five weeks to have foetus removed

Professor Alan Cameron, spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), said that in "the majority of cases" pregnancy tissue naturally passes out of the womb seven to 14 days after miscarriage, meaning that many women would not require surgery.

Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood said: “Miscarriage is a very sad experience for women and for families – as a doctor who has personally looked after many women who have experienced a miscarriage I know that women and their partners can be affected for life.

“It is important that health professionals provide appropriate, sensitive and supportive care to women and their families at this time including, where appropriate further investigation or counselling. 

“Long waits for surgical procedures following miscarriage are not acceptable, and we are clear that we expect all Health Boards to provide care for women who have experienced miscarriage in line with the RCOG guidelines tailored to the needs of a woman’s own circumstances.”

Anyone bereaved by miscarriage can contact SCIM on 0141 552 5070.