A woman was slapped with a fine from the NHS after claiming a free prescription for allergy pills after miscarrying her baby.
Sadie Hawkes was still coping with the loss of her child and failed to attend an appointment with her midwife to collect an exemption certificate.
The 33-year-old was then gobsmacked to be told three months later not only did she owe the full cost of the medication but had to pay a fine too.
She said receiving the letter was "really upsetting", and when she called the helpline to explain the situation, the operator was "like a robot - she was so cold and unemphatic".
After fighting the decision, she was told to prove she'd been pregnant before the penalty fee was scrapped, but she was still made to cough up the prescription charge.
Sadie, from Leeds, is now promoting a petition to change the rules so certificates can be backdated, so no-one else in her situation is treated the same way.
Sadie said: "I had a detailed conversation with the pharmacist who informed me my allergy tablets would be prescribed free of charge. But I miscarried and never collected the maternity exemption certificate.
"Consequently, I was fined three months later, and while dealing with the pain of a miscarriage, I had to prove I was pregnant in the first place. It was horrible."
Sadie discovered she was pregnant in September last year. She was thrilled, and looking forward to motherhood. But at nine weeks she started to experience problems.
Sadie went for scans at Airedale Hospital, and on February 19 she was told there was a possibility of a miscarriage.
After 12 hours in A&E, and an overnight stay, she received the devastating news she'd been dreading.
Sadie, a veterinary nurse, said: "Everything was fine for the first two months, then I started to have problems. Despite being originally told the baby was healthy, it turned out I'd miscarried. The next few weeks were hell - my whole world fell apart."
Two weeks earlier, Sadie had an appointment with her local pharmacist who prescribed her allergy tablets on the NHS - on the grounds she was pregnant.
Under NHS rules, pregnancy does not qualify women in England for free prescriptions unless their midwife registers them for a maternity exemption certificate.
Pharmacists are legally required to request the certificate, so Sadie scheduled an appointment with her midwife to organise the paperwork.
But just before her appointment, she miscarried, and texted her midwife to inform she wouldn't be attending.
Three months later she was ordered by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to pay a £46.75 fine plus the £9.35 prescription charge for the tablets.
Sadie said: "Getting that letter through the post saying I'd been fined was really upsetting. I rung up the NHSBSA on the number on the letter to explain I'd miscarried, and the woman on the phone was like a robot - she was so cold and unemphatic.
"It was the worst phone call of my life. I subsequently had to call the doctors myself and prove that I was pregnant in the first place.
"The doctors printed off my notes, and emailed over the proof to the NHSBSA - who then said they'll take the fine off, but I still owe the £9 prescription charge."
Sadie is outraged at how she's been treated and is promoting a petition to change the rules so that certificates can be backdated to the beginning of a pregnancy. So far, she's received 712 signatures, but wants to reach 10,000 so the topic can be debated in parliament.
Sadie added: "After looking online, I found out what's happened to me happened to 25,000 women last year - and around 200,000 in total.
"The NHS is making money out of these fines and people just pay them as they're preoccupied.
"I want to change the law surrounding pregnancy exemption certificates, as one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, and this is a reoccurring problem."
The Department of Health and Social Care told the Observer that there are no plans to change the rules, although it “recognised” the stress of unexpected charges.
A spokesperson said: "Patients are responsible for ensuring they are claiming an entitlement to which they are eligible, and making a correct declaration on their prescription form.”
NHSBSA has now apologised to Sadie about how the situation was handled.
