'Dead Baby' Born After Misdiagnosis

The Irish health authorities are facing criticism over a woman who refused to heed doctors after they said her baby had died in the womb and then successfully gave birth to a healthy baby boy.

The incident began last year when, after a scan at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, pregnant Melissa Redmond was told by a doctor that her foetus had died.

She was then issued an abortive drug, as per hospital procedures, as arrangements were made for her to have a procedure to remove the foetus.

Mrs Redmond then decided to go for another scan at a GP which confirmed the foetus was still alive and baby Michael was born in March.

The Health Service Executive said it had carried out a review following the misdiagnosis and has since implemented a range of new procedures.

These include training junior doctors in scanning early pregnancies, while a consultant will be engaged in a process of verification with all junior doctors involved in scanning to ensure their competency.

Also, no patient will receive the abortive drug until a qualified sonographer has confirmed a miscarriage.

Speaking about the case, the Labour Party Spokesperson on Health, Jan O'Sullivan, called for the Health Information Quality Authority (HIQA) to carry out an immediate investigation as to how such a diagnosis was given.

"I want to commend the mother in question for publicising her horrendous experience at the treatment she received from Our Lady of Lourdes hospital. It is absolutely incredible to think that in this day and age patients are still encountering such incidents. This misdiagnosis has once again highlighted the issue of hospitals being under resourced both in terms of experienced staff and equipment.

"The absence of guidelines for the successful operation of scanners and related medical equipment and the unavailability of key experienced medical staff highlights the seriousness of the problems with the management of this hospital."

According to reports this morning, the scanning machine, which was used at the time of this incident, has now been taken out of service, although the HSE did not say how long after the incident that took place.

A qualified sonographer is also to take up their position in the Early Pregnancy Assessment Unit next month. They will be based in the unit from 9am to 1pm.

(DW/BMcC)