Newborns are so tiny, so precious, and we treat them with the utmost care and love to ensure they are always safe. For one new mom, though, her precious baby’s safety was compromised by a careless nurse. The nurse’s negligence has left the little one without a leg, as it had to be amputated to save him.
The unnamed baby boy was taken to the intensive care unit of the Children’s Hospital Affiliated with Suzhou University in China on Sunday afternoon. According to the chief doctor, the baby was in shock when he reached the hospital with burns covering about 50 percent of his body surface.
The incident took place when one careless nurse had just given the baby a bath and used a hairdryer to blow-dry him. After doing so, she placed the hairdryer in the baby’s incubator but forgot to turn it off.
The hairdryer continued heating up and the baby’s left foot was severely burnt as a result. By the time the mistake was discovered about an hour later the baby’s foot was already charred.
The doctors later had no other option than to amputate the four-day-old boy’s leg.
The incident has left people shocked and disappointed.
Two nurses who were identified as responsible for the accident have been fired from the hospital. In addition to this, the hospital authorities have also issued a public apology as well.
More details of this tragic story from AWM:
The baby’s father told Henan Metropolitan News Channel: “If she had paid attention to the babies and quickly removed the hair dryer from them, he (my son) would have only suffered minor burns.”
The Deputy Director of the hospital extended his apologies for the incident, with the hospital offering to pay some of the baby’s medical expenses. The family has yet to accept that offer, however.
The baby’s grandmother was understandably worried about the child’s future, commenting: “The baby has become disabled just four days after birth. What’s his future going to be like?”
AWM highlights some comments from folks online as featured by DailyMail:
One person remarked: “Maybe the nurse was overworked but how do you leave something hot and dangerous like that next to a helpless baby for an hour plus? It’s bad enough to be handicapped in the UK or the US — but the quality of life in Asia is much much worse for those who are handicapped.”
Another commenter asked: “They blow dry the babies after a bath?,” with a nurse chiming in to note: “At the start of my R.N. career I worked 3 years in a NICU. That hairdryer had no business being there whatsoever. I’m dumbfounded.”
Another commenter didn’t pull any punches, writing: “Idiot nurses. They need to be charged for negligence and reckless endangerment of the baby, not just fired.”
Watch the video below for more details: