Social media in China has been shocked and outraged by a midwife who cut off a newborn baby’s finger when severing his umbilical cord during a caesarean section.
The infant boy was born on the morning of December 25, at Xuyi County People’s Hospital in Jiangsu province, eastern China.
Two hours later, his father was told by doctors that the child’s left middle finger had been snipped by accident during the surgery, the Red Star News reported.
The baby then faced two hospital transfers before being admitted by a major health centre, Wuxi No 9 People’s Hospital, about 300 km away, where he underwent a finger implantation operation.
The nurse told the family that she made the blunder because the infant’s fingers suddenly moved when she was cutting the umbilical cord.
According to a statement released by Xuyi County’s Health Commission on January 5, it was the midwife’s “serious error” that caused the infant’s finger to be “partly cut off”.
The implantation surgery was successful and the child has been transferred back to the Xuyi Hospital for rehabilitation, the authorities said.
The nurse has been suspended from work.
The Xuyi hospital, which has apologised to the family multiple times, vowed to take full responsibility for the baby’s future treatment and rehabilitation, the statement read.
The personal details of the midwife have not been made public.
“The incident shows the loopholes in our hospitals’ medical safety management. We will hold relevant staffers accountable and learn the lessons from it. We will carry out a comprehensive overhaul on medical safety at all hospitals and will try to improve medical service quality,” the authorities said.
The baby’s father, surnamed Sheng, said his wife was distraught by the accident and could not accept what happened.
“How could such a stupid mistake happen in such a big hospital?” he said.
He added that the baby often cries and is suffering a lot because of a steel needle which was implanted inside his finger during surgery.
The hospital at first proposed to pay the family 100,000 yuan (US$14,000) in compensation, adding that if they did not agree, the case would be handled through judicial procedures.
Sheng told the media on January 6 that the two parties had reached an agreement on compensation but did not reveal the details.
“My baby’s finger is not swollen any longer. We will watch closely how his condition develops,” said Sheng.
The story prompted an outpouring of anger online.
“I do not know how to describe my feelings towards this kind of blunder. How could such a mistake happen?” one online observer said.
“As a mother, my heart aches greatly for the baby. He will suffer for his whole life. Poor baby,” said another.
Medical safety incidents frequently make headlines in China.
In November, a hospital in southern Hainan province issued an investigation report in which it admitted its staff carelessly filled in the gender information of a male baby as female.
Also, a nurse in Shandong province, eastern China, came under fire in early January for letting her boyfriend accompany her during night shifts and allowing him to prepare medications and label intravenous drip bottles on her behalf. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
