Summary:
On the fifteenth of May two midwives came to Julie Ward and her little girl Katie to see if the six-day-old baby was healthy. They asked the mother to fill a bowl with hot water, which she did, and then when the mother had turned they put the little girls left foot in the hot water. They did this without even checking the temperature and after the mother had told them it was really hot. The mother heard a scream and turned to see her baby in pain because the skin was hanging from her foot. The incident is being researched, but the Stafford Hospital from which the midwives came, already has a pretty bad trackrecord. So this just adds to the numbers. The fact that they didn't even mention to the mother that one of the midwives was only a student doesn't work to their advantage as well.
Opinion:
I think this is ridiculous! Such horrendous mistakes shouldn't be possible! In the medical world mistakes are possible, just like everywhere else, but mistakes like this are not supposed to happen. A five-year-old knows not to put his fingers in steaming water, but a midwive forgets?! I think there is simply no excuse for this mistake and the midwives who was qualified should have their license taken away from her!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2002954/Stafford-Hospital-6-day-old-baby-left-horrific-burns-midwives-carlessness.html
You are right. There is not a single excuse for this terrible blunder. I am a nurse myself and I almost feel a vicarious shame. How could they do that? One of the very first things you learn is to always, really always check water temperature. Even if you have those thermostatically controlled taps. Never put someone in the bath tube or put them under a shower without checking! I hope that the little girl recovers quickly and that her foot will heal nicely, although I think she will need surgery in the future as burnt skin does not grow and the scars will probably hinder her.
ReplyDeleteHot water is dangerous. Commercials specialised to give people a warning about the causes of burning says that hot water is the most frequent one. A mother who spills tea or spills water during ironing. This story is a bit different. The midwife indeed needed to check the temperature before putting the child in the water. On the other hand the mother could have warned her if the midwife was a student. Students still need to learn and mothers are the best ones to teach them in practise.
ReplyDelete