Qld: No babies have left hospital with wrong mother: Qld Health

AAP General News (Australia)
04-18-2009
Qld: No babies have left hospital with wrong mother: Qld Health

By Jessica Marszalek

BRISBANE, April 18 AAP - No baby has gone home with the wrong family, Queensland Health
has assured mothers alarmed that 57 babies were wrongly tagged in the state's hospitals
last year.

Babies are given three identification tags in Queensland hospitals - two on their limbs
and one taped to their back.

But documents reveal at least one tag was missing, or tags held the wrong name in 57
cases in 2008.

There were 27 cases in 2006 and 55 in 2007.

Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young said the rise was due to more reporting
by nurses, which is required even if no harm has been caused.

She said tags could fall off babies' small wrists and ankles, and sometimes babies'
names were spelt wrongly.

"It doesn't mean that we don't know who that baby is," Dr Young told reporters in Brisbane
on Saturday.

Nevertheless, the mistakes were concerning.

"But I can assure everyone that there is no chance that any baby has gone home with
the wrong mother," she said.

"That absolutely has not happened and every mother in Queensland needs to be reassured
about that."

Dr Young said Queensland Health was looking at different ways of labelling patients
to avoid these types of mistakes.

"We're looking at barcoding systems and other systems using the technology that's available,"

she said.

Queensland Nurses' Union spokeswoman Gay Hawksworth said the errors were due to overworked staff.

"I have absolutely no doubt about that," she told ABC Radio.

"Everybody is absolutely stretched to the limit and no midwife or nurse or other health
professional wants to make an error."

AAP jmm/it

KEYWORD: BABIES

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