| A woman who miscarried was fined by the NHS for claiming a free prescription whilst pregnant. Sadie Hawkes, 33, lost her baby before she had received the maternity exemption certificate that would entitle her to free prescriptions through the duration of her pregnancy.
Due to the pain and trauma of miscarrying, she didn't attend her scheduled appointment with her midwife to collect the certificate. Read More: Warning to everyone with a garden not to cut lawns Three months later, she was fined by the NHS and charged the price of the medication.
After explaining her situation to the NHS, she had to provide proof of pregnancy before the fine was withdrawn - but she is still required to pay the prescription charge.
Now Sadie is pushing 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 said: "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 said there are no plans to change the rules, although it "recognised" the stress of unexpected charges.
Sign Sadie's petition here
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