The enquiry committee formed by the medical superintendent of Civil Hospital Karachi to conduct probe into alleged changeling of a newborn in the hospital presented its report to the MS with the suggestion that for satisfaction of the parents, confirmation could be provided through DNA testing. It also demanded disciplinary action against concerned staff who failed to maintain the official record properly.
The committee comprised of Chairman Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, members Dr Amina Memon and Dr Afshan Jafri. The enquiry report was made with reference of office letter No MS/CHK/AO/809 dated 26-01-2016 and partial modification letter no MS/CHK/ 889 dated 28-01-2016.
The committee members presented its report to the MS CHK which stated that on the allegation that babies were exchanged, all the concerned staff of Gynae Emergency OT, Gyane -II, Paeds-II and all complainants including patient Mrs Hina was called before the committee.
Their verbal and written statements were recorded, including the comments from Associate Professors Gynae-II, Dr Nusrat Shah & Dr Fahmina Arif, Professor Paeds-II.
The enquiry committee thoroughly reviewed all the statements and verified the entire OT record, Gynae-II record, and Paeds-II record from every aspect and came to the conclusion that patient gave birth to a baby girl.
The student nurse who received the baby at the time of operation stated that she did not remember the gender of that this particular baby. However, the routine is to put pink bands on baby girls and blue on baby boys. This baby had a pink band, which was verified by the patient’s grandmother, he added.
The referral letter from OT to Paeds nursery that was written by house officer specified it as a baby girl. This was the only pre-mature baby delivered in the Gynae OT and admitted in the nursery on the day.
The nursery record of examination on admission mentioned that it was a female baby. The PG & House Officer doctors who received the baby in nursery were both very sure that only a pre-mature baby girl was received on January 5, 2016.
The source of confusion was that the OT staff nurse did not check the gender of the baby. As the baby was pre-mature and serious, in a hurry she entered it as “male baby” in the OT register after overhearing some technicians congratulating the attendants that the patient had a baby boy.
Surgeon Dr Faiza stated the she did not remember the gender. She just copied the OT register and entered the baby’s gender as male in case sheet, she added. Both the discharge card and the birth certificate were made according to the case sheet, so this terrible mistake remained present throughout the entire Gynae record, she added.
