Golcar mum-to-be’s swine flu anguish

Jul 23 2009 by Anne-Marie Senior, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A PREGNANT mum whose first baby died in tragic circumstances was forced to wait more than seven hours to discover if she had swine flu.

Alanna Delahaye, 22, faced a day of torment as she waited for a call back from NHS Direct after an online symptom checker named her as ‘high risk’.

The Golcar mum-to-be was told the service was suffering a backlog of calls as more people flooded the phonelines with symptoms.

She called at 10.30am yesterday but had to wait until 5.30pm when a doctor confirmed she had all the symptoms of swine flu, bar a high temperature.

So she was told to wait even longer to see if she develops a high temperature over the coming hours and days then advised to call her GP as a matter of urgency.

Alanna, who is five months pregnant, lost her first baby Maisie last September when she was just two days old because of last-minute complications.

The heartbreaking loss prompted her and partner Glynn Bates to set-up a campaign called MOMS – Move Our Maternity Services – calling for full maternity care to be restored at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

The couple’s determination to keep this pregnancy problem-free has seen them having fortnightly scans to ensure the safety of their unborn child.

Yesterday, Alanna – who is due in November – was alarmed when she woke with flu-like symptoms including a cough, headache and runny nose.

She immediately went online to complete the NHS Direct swine flu symptom checker which classed her as ‘high risk’.

She was told a health professional would phone her back but after two hours received a call to say there was a six-hour delay. They explained it would be after 5pm when someone was free to ring her.