Australian hospital in baby switch error
July 18, 2011 in HealthTwo Australian mothers were mistakenly given the wrong newborns in a mix up which saw the infants breastfed and cared for by the wrong woman for some eight hours, the hospital said Monday.
The St John of God Hospital in Geelong, west of Melbourne, blamed human error for the swap which was eventually detected by a family member.
"Protocols are in place to ensure mothers are given their own baby, but it seems that in this instance human error was involved," the hospital said in a statement.
"Unfortunately, it seems the babies' identification bracelets were not checked against the identification bracelets on their mothers."
The hospital is investigating the mistake which saw each baby spend around eight-and-a-half hours with the wrong mother after they were taken from the special care nursery where they had spent the night.
The women and babies are being tested for any infections they may have contracted as a result of the error which occurred on Friday.
Hospital chief executive Stephen Roberts said it was a "just a terrible tragedy".
"Our protocols and processes broke down and we're deeply apologetic and regretful for the pain and concern that we've caused these families," he told radio station 3AW.
(c) 2011 AFP
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