Two mothers in a Hyderabad hospital have been left skeptical, if the new-born baby that they are feeding is their own, after the irresponsibility of medical staff at the Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) hospital in Nacharam.
On Wednesday, chaos ensued at the hospital, after the staff seemingly mixed up the tags given to two new born babies.
M Manisha, wife of K Mahesh and a resident of LB Nagar, gave birth to a baby boy at around 11 am. Within a short span of time, another pregnant woman S Akhila, wife of S Shiva Kumar, also gave birth to a boy.
As per the procedure, the hospital staff gave name tags to the babies, displaying their parents name, time of birth, gender etc.
However, as Akhila was undergoing treatment after she opted for family planning, she couldn’t see her baby immediately.
After the staff handed over the baby to Akhila, she noticed the tag on the wrist of the baby, which said that the mother’s name was Manisha. She immediately raised an alarm, following which Manisha and Mahesh noticed that the tag on the baby in their custody, bore Akhila’s name.
Soon, the hospital claimed that the babies had not been swapped, and stated that it was just an error in writing the name tag.
However, both parents were unconvinced with the hospital staff’s clarification, which resulted in a blood test of both the parents and the new-born infants.
Parents protest
Speaking to TV9, Akhila said, “Since I was undergoing treatment for family planning, it took me 40 minutes to see my baby. After the staff handed over the baby to me, I noticed the tag in which the mother’s name was Manisha.”
“After I complained, the other parents also noticed the tag on my baby which was with them. However, the staff said that it was an error and they had corrected it. The baby which they gave me is not mine, for which I protested,” she added.
Speaking to TNM, K Mahesh, one of the parents cried foul over the attitude of the hospital staff.
He lamented that the staff, through their negligence, had created trouble. He also doubted if the baby in their custody is actually their biological son.
“The hospital staff has to be blamed for this anxiety they have caused. We are not sure, if the baby we have with us, is ours or not,” he said.
Hospital suggests DNA test
Meanwhile, the hospital said that the blood samples were collected, but the blood test remained inconclusive, as the doctors are not sure if a mere blood test can determine which baby belongs to whom.
The hospital later suggested a DNA test. The hospital staff is collecting the DNA samples on Friday.
However, the problem with a DNA test is that it will take at least a month for the report to come out.
“Everyone is saying that the DNA procedure might take at least 30 days. Should we suffer for a month for no fault of us?” Mahesh asked.
Deputy Superintendent, Dr I Suresh told Telangana Today, “This is a clear mistake on the part of the class IV employee. The error was immediately identified. However, the parents are not convinced with this. A DNA test will solve the issue.”
For now, based on the partial determination of the blood test, the babies are being fed by Manisha and Akhila at the hospital.