A nurse at a Polokwane hospital was dismissed and her two colleagues were suspended following an incident where two babies were swapped in April, the Limpopo health department said on Wednesday.
The baby swapping discovery was made by one of the mothers when she went home and found two name tags on a baby. The mothers were admitted back to the hospital and DNA tests were conducted which proved that the wrong babies had been given to the mothers.
Departmental spokesperson Phuti Seloba said an internal investigation had been conducted after the incident.
An independent disciplinary committee hearing was held last week, and a report issued this week said the dismissed nurse had been found guilty of negligence.
”Four nurses were charged after the incident. Following the report, the nurse who dispatched the babies from the hospital was dismissed. One nurse was suspended for one month without pay, while the hospital’s unit manager got a two month suspension without pay,” Seloba said.
Seloba said the nurse who was dismissed, and the hospital’s unit manager, lodged appeals.
The hospital’s deputy manager is still to appear before the health department’s disciplinary committee, he said. – Sapa