Preventive measures: K-P hospitals asked to use tagging systems for newborns

“Two doctors and a nurse may be deputed for one patient so that mother and the baby receive good care,” the statement

PESHAWAR: Authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkwa have instructed top officials in health facilities to take precautionary measures to prevent the abduction of newborns from hospitals and maternity clinics.

A string of measures was proposed including the introduction of a tagging system for newborn babies. Each baby will have a tag inscribed with his or her parents’’ names. Additionally, the installation of closed circuit TV cameras was proposed in the gynae units, labour rooms and nurseries, a statement issued stated.

“Two doctors and a nurse may be deputed for one patient so that the mother and the baby receive good care,” the statement read adding that one of the doctors should be made responsible to look after the new-born.

It added that one responsible female should be present at the time of the delivery to avoid any mishap.

It also asked hospitals to devise an identity card system which would be used at the time of the handover of the new-borns to their parents. It also suggested that a pro forma may be compiled in an admission chart.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 1^st, 2016.