Staff nurse among 2 suspended after newborn mix-up at Etah Medical College
Etah: A staff nurse and an attendant were suspended at a government medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Etah following a newborn mix-up that triggered an inquiry, officials said on Saturday.
The incident took place at the Veerangana Avanti Bai Lodhi Autonomous State Medical College, where two women underwent caesarean deliveries on the same day.
According to Principal Dr Balbir Singh, 22-year-old Shivani gave birth to a boy, while 27-year-old Afsana delivered a girl child. Singh said Afsana’s newborn daughter did not cry immediately after birth and was, therefore, kept under medical observation, news agency PTI reported.
Hospital authorities said an attendant later brought the babies to the ward and allegedly handed them over to the wrong families. As a result, the woman who had given birth to the boy was given the girl, while the mother of the girl was given the boy.
The mix-up led to confusion and a dispute between the two families, both of whom laid claim to the same child. When the situation escalated, hospital authorities alerted police.
Police personnel, including the local outpost in charge, reached the medical college and, with the presence of doctors, resolved the matter after verification. The newborns were subsequently handed over to their respective families, the officials said.
The medical college administration said its preliminary inquiry had found no evidence of foul play and indicated that the incident was the result of human error and negligence, reports PTI.
Singh said an attendant and a staff nurse were suspended with immediate effect after prima facie evidence of negligence emerged.
