Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU)

Our Early Pregnancy Unit is allowing accompanying partners for both emergency appointments and routine rescans.  Due to very limited waiting room space and the requirement to maintain social distancing measures, we may ask partners to wait outside the department (for example in their car) and they be called by telephone when the woman is about to be seen so that they can accompany her.

Our Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) is based on level 2, junction 11 at Darent Valley Hospital to offer expert care for women experiencing severe vomiting, pain or bleeding between 5 and 16 weeks of their pregnancy, and pregnant women with high risk of an ectopic pregnancy.

Our Unit provides a supportive environment and quick assessment of our patients to provide the best onward care and treatment for our patients. 

Please contact our staff if you have any concerns. 

Part of our service is the management of miscarriage or ectopic pregnancies, and we have a telephone line for patients during working hours with our team. We also provide a dedicated room for the inpatient medical management of miscarriage.  

At the unit

We aim to see patients within four hours of arriving on the unit.

Patients are asked to give a urine sample and their blood pressure and temperature will be checked. Our nurse co-ordinator will ask some questions about the situation and get a medical history to make sure or patients are in the right department for their needs. 

The specialist gynaecology nurse will ask you about the problem and perform any necessary series of investigations before a final diagnosis is made, e.g. patients may be offered an ultrasound, if appropriate or a listen of the baby’s heart beat if over 12 weeks; and may have a vaginal examination and/or blood tests.