South Korea: Hospital almost gave the wrong baby, health sector issued urgent warning

(Dan Tri) - In response to these rare incidents, Korean authorities have also issued urgent safety warnings, requiring hospitals to increase inspections and verify information to prevent recurrence.

Two consecutive cases of mistaken identification cards for newborns have occurred in Korea (Illustration: Unsplash).

According to information posted on Chosun , recently in Korea, two cases of newborn babies being almost exchanged at the hospital were discovered.

In the first case, a nurse in the delivery room attached an identification bracelet belonging to mother A. to mother B.'s baby without verifying her identity and then transferred the baby to the intensive care unit. This error was later discovered during a system check and the bracelet was replaced immediately.

At another hospital, the anesthesia department also mistakenly attached mother C's label to mother D's child's identification bracelet. The incident was discovered shortly after, and the child was given the correct bracelet.

Following this incident, the Korea Institute for Assessment and Accreditation of Healthcare Facilities (KAHF) issued a “Patient Safety Alert” with the theme “Need to accurately verify the mother and newborn at birth.”

The institute warns that mistakes in baby handovers can cause great harm to mothers and families and undermine trust in medical facilities, so special care by medical staff is essential.

“Establishing standards for patient identification during childbirth and accurately verifying these standards at each stage of the process is of utmost importance,” KAHF stressed.

Therefore, hospitals need to set clear inspection standards for each stage of birth and standardize the process with a checklist to avoid missing the identification step. In addition, the institute also encourages the use of two parallel identification indicators to increase accuracy.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/han-quoc-benh-vien-suyt-trao-nham-tre-so-sinh-nganh-y-te-ra-canh-bao-khan-20251105091658643.htm