Health Ministry to probe case of houseman who injured baby while attempting to draw blood

IPOH: The case of a houseman who allegedly punctured a baby's hand multiple times after attempting to draw blood will be investigated, says Dr Lee Boon Chye (pic).

The Deputy Health Minister said the case would be brought to the ministry for further inquiry.

“Since a baby’s hand is small, it might be hard for the doctors or nurses to find the vein. We often face this issue when babies are admitted to hospital and seeking medical assistance.

“However, according to our practice, if they failed on the first and second attempts, whether it is a doctor or a nurse, they must let somebody else, preferably a senior to handle it.

“Each staff member is only allowed to make one or two attempts, no more than that,” he told reporters after attending the World AIDS Day celebration here on Sunday (Dec 1).

On Saturday (Nov 30), a photo of a baby’s hand with several needle-like punctured marks went viral on social media after a Facebook user under the name Sholehah Ikhwan uploaded it.

According to the post, a senior houseman had made about 10 attempts on the baby's hand, causing the mother to cry.

Despite repeatedly asking for a different person with more competent skills to do it, the houseman insisted to continue as he claimed to be a "senior trainee doctor".

The original post has been set to private but it was re-uploaded by other social media users using the same caption.