The director-general of health, Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah, said the ministry would also take action against the medical centre once the investigations were completed.

Last Tuesday, a married couple were shocked to be told by the medical centre that their newborn had been swapped with another couple’s baby. They were told five hours after bringing home the new baby, the couple’s fifth child, who was born at 4.04pm on Tuesday.

“The ministry’s preliminary investigation found that the reported incident was true and that there were weaknesses in terms of babycare in the post-natal ward, as well as non-adherence of the discharge procedures at the medical centre,” Dr Noor Hisham said.

“Although the medical centre had taken steps to resolve the mix-up baby case, the ministry still views the incident seriously,” he said in a statement today.

Dr Noor Hisham said the incident should not have taken place at any private medical facility licensed under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act.

He reminded all private hospitals to ensure that mothers and their newly-born babies are given an identification tag or other suitable device, which contained personal information, including full name of the mother and the date of birth and gender of the baby.

“The identification tag must be rechecked during any babycare procedures and before leaving the labour room or post-natal wards,” he said.

He also expressed hope that the circular issued, which encompassed the pre-natal, labour, post-natal and discharge processes, could be adopted by all private hospitals in the country as a guide or reference in ensuring safety of newborn babies.

– BERNAMA