Two mums horrified, demand change after mix-up with their newborn babies
A first-time mum was enjoying the newborn bubble when she made a horrific discovery on her baby daughter’s ankle that shook her to the core.
One of the best days of a mother’s life is finally being able to take their baby home.
But for one young mum, she was left horrified after finding the wrong identification bracelet had been attached on her newborn’s ankle — making her think she had taken the wrong baby home.
Brianna had given birth to her daughter Willow on August 21 at Maitland Hospital in the New South Wales Hunter Region.
But moments later her baby had to be rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after struggling to breathe.
Willow spent less than an hour in the department receiving treatment before being taken to the “recovery room”.
Brianna was then discharged and enjoying the newborn bubble at home when she noticed the ID tags on her daughter did not belong to her.
“The wrong name bands were put on Willow. There was a boy’s name band that was put on her and different mother’s details that were put on her as well,” she told A Current Affair.
“They actually told us over the phone that Willow’s information was put in somebody else’s profile at the hospital.”
Brianna called the other young mother to let her know of the mix-up.
Kirra, 20, had been at the same hospital just days earlier on August 18 when she gave birth to her son Bentley.
But the newborn had to be taken to the NICU due to complications.
He was there for six days and “quite active”, Kirra said, adding that her son would regularly kick off the identification bracelet on his ankle.
The young mum’s mother joked if she had heard of the 1991 movie Switched At Birth and stressed it was important the bracelet remained on.
“I didn’t think this was real. I was in shock,” Kirra said of the bungle and her personal details being put in the hands of a stranger.
“But I am very lucky to this day to have a nice person to actually reach out to me because the hospital did not reach out once to tell me what had happened.”
Patient identification tags most commonly consist of the full name, date of birth and the patient’s medical record number (MRN).
In the case of a newborn, and to avoid a mix-up, the mother’s name is also printed on the band, as well as the time the baby was born.
It must be checked with the patient or a family member before being placed on the patient or prior to procedures such as medication being administered.
“The patient, or their family/carer, is to be asked the question: ‘Can you please tell me your full name and date of birth?’” NSW Health policy on identification bands states.
“The response to this question is to be compared with the patient’s identification band and the
patient’s medical record, admission form, medication charts or request forms.”
Brianna’s partner – who was with their daughter the whole time in the NICU – claimed he was not asked once by nurses to verify the newborn’s details.
“It was very sad to go through as a first time mum,” Brianna said, choking back tears.
“What makes it worst is that the name band put on her was from three days ago. I don’t understand why there’s a name band sitting around for three days.”
Wanting answers from the hospital, she demanded paperwork, which showed Willow’s bracelets had been ticked off by staff who checked it in the morning, afternoon and night.
Kirra also sought out an explanation but claimed the hospital stafff did not give her any hard proof and said they could only relay it to her over the phone.
Brianna said she received an apology from the hospital, blaming a shortage of staff as the reason behind the mix-up.
But she argued there is no excuse as there are hospital procedures that have to be followed, adding that there needs to be a “change in the public health system”.
“I could have taken home somebody else’s baby. They could have immunised her with the wrong immunisation,” she said.
Kirra said she will not be going back to the hospital if she has another baby, saying she has been left “traumatised” by the incident.
Maitland Hospital General Manager Jenny Martin apologised for the bungle and that she has stressed to staff about NSW Health processes and procedures.
“I extend my sincere apologies to both families whose newborns were given the wrong identification bracelets,” she said in a statement.
“We have thoroughly reviewed this serious incident and can confirm both babies received appropriate care, always remained with their own families, and there have been no adverse outcomes.
“However, we have reinforced with the staff involved and across our services the need to adhere to the processes and procedures in place that should have prevented this from occurring.
“All patients and carers are able to request access to their medical record.”
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