P.E.I.'s largest hospital will look at staffing issues and how the emergency department handled the case of a woman who miscarried while waiting to get help.

P.E.I. Health Minister Carolyn Bertram said Thursday she plans to follow up personally on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital investigation. (CBC)

Christine Handrahan of Peakes, about 40 kilometres north of Charlottetown, and her husband, Michael, went to the emergency department at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown on July 12, worried about excessive bleeding.

Handrahan was about nine weeks pregnant. The couple gave up waiting after three hours and made the trip to Summerside, a 45-minute drive away, to try to get help at the Prince County Hospital. Medical staff there told Handrahan she had miscarried.

Dr. Rosemary Henderson, acting executive director of Queen Elizabeth Hospital, told CBC News Thursday the hospital's investigation into the case would include a number of areas.

"Looking at the details of how she was treated, and what the timeframes were, and what she went through when she was in the emergency department, and whether that was appropriate," Henderson said. "Whether there are any problems that we can identify and whether there are things that we could have done better."

The emergency department at the hospital recently expanded but doesn't have extra staff.

Mona O'Shea, from the P.E.I. Nurses' Union, suggested the expansion poses an obvious problem.

"When you've increased the size of the emergency department, you've increased the number of beds, you obviously have to increase your complement of staff," O'Shea said Thursday. "If you've not done this, then you're going to have to close some beds."

O'Shea said nurses do the best they can.

"Do they have enough time at the bedside to be able to be compassionate?" O'Shea asked. "I hope so. That is our profession."

Staffing levels safe: minister

P.E.I. Health Minister Carolyn Bertram said safety isn't being compromised at the hospital ER.

"I feel for this family, and it's a very unfortunate experience and situation," Bertram said. "It does weigh heavily on my heart as a minister of health."

Bertram said the province has allocated $1 million for additional staffing at the new ER, which will mean about 20 more full-time positions.

The minister said officials are working hard to fill those spots. Still, she described the current staff complement at the emergency department as safe.

Bertram said she intends to follow up on the investigation by the hospital.

"I certainly, as minister, will be looking to see that full investigation completed and that the proper resources are put in place," she said.

"Again, I want to reiterate that this situation will be rectified at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and that positions will be filled as soon as possible."

The hospital expects some positions will be filled by the fall.

Situation unacceptable: Opposition

Olive Crane, Opposition health critic in P.E.I., said she's received numerous calls from people concerned about lengthy wait times at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital ER.

Crane said doctors and nurses are doing their best, but there just aren't enough of them in the department.

"Every day, emergency is stressed," Crane said. "They're operating over capacity. They need the dollars and resources right now.

"In this particular incident, you know, here is a young couple going through a really terrible emotional time — and it's just not acceptable."

Hospital administration has said it was a busy day in the ER when Handrahan miscarried.

Henderson said prioritizing cases could mean someone else goes ahead of a pregnant woman who's bleeding. Such cases could include someone who has had a heart attack, someone injured in a car accident or someone with a serious abdominal emergency that could lead to death.

Henderson said disciplinary action could result if a policy or protocol was broken. She said normally, however, such investigations result in recommendations to improve the system.

The hospital expects its review to take about a month.