Hospital throws away newborn by mistake

Hospital throws away newborn by mistake

A hospital in South China's Guangdong province hs mistakenly diagnosed a premature baby as stillborn and threw him away.

The issue has stoked public anger and stirred a new round of debate regarding the country's hospital management system.

Liu Dongmei, 22, gave birth to a baby boy in the 32nd week of her pregnancy with the help of two nurses at Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in Foshan Oct 26.

The baby was believed to be not breathing or crying and the skin had turned purple.

The nurses assumed he was dead, wrapped him in a plastic bag and discarded him in a restroom but Liu's family rushed to the hospital 30 minutes later to find that the baby was still alive.

Huang Lichuan, director of the hospital’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, confessed that the nurses had mistakenly diagnosed the stillbirth due to a shortage of experience.

Wang Haizhang, Liu's husband, said they called the doctor on duty many times that night but no one came to help them.

Hospital authorities explained that the doctor on duty was treating a patient who was suffering from a massive haemorrhage at the time.

Local health authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. The obstetrical director, doctor on duty at the time of the incident and the nurses have been suspended from duty.

Those who were responsible for the accident failed to follow proper procedure during the birth that a doctor must be present, said Pan Yongtong - standing deputy director of the health department of the Nanhai district.

The fact that the nurses did not report the supposed stillbirth to the doctor on duty before disposing of the baby is also part of the problem, Pan said. - Xinhua

Images: CFP

Published Oct 6, 2011

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