In both a parent and hospital’s worst nightmare a new mum will sue after a nurse dropped her baby and fractured his skull.
Kelsey Bond, 19, from Ontario, Canada, said she received a phone call from the maternity ward manager about the incident, explaining a nurse had “fallen asleep feeding him and woke up to him crying on the floor”. This story tells of a terrible accident that should never have happened yet also highlights the challenging and exhausting conditions which nurses work under everyday.
Bond’s two-month-old baby, Kieran Keller, was staying in the hospital’s special-care nursery when the incident occurred. Baby Kieran was born two-months premature and is suffering a number of health problems.
“She said she was sorry… and that a pediatrician had looked at him and said he was fine,” Bond, 19, told National Post. “I was more or less in shock, so I didn’t really say anything,” she said, “I just kinda hung up.”
According to the Post, the nurse, who has not been identified, was not reprimanded over the incident. Instead hospital officials said they were investigating an “unusual and unfortunate incident” involving a “very experienced, highly-qualified, great nurse”.
According to hospital documents, Kieran “possibly slid down [the nurse’s] lap” when she fell asleep but the exact way he fell was still “unclear”.
When Bond arrived at the hospital, she demanded Baby Kieran have scans because his head looked “a little bit swollen and red on the left hand side. I had a gut feeling that everything wasn’t OK,” she said, adding “we’ve already almost lost him once”.
One of the scans revealed a fracture in Kieran’s skull and an acute subdural hematoma which is the pooling of blood between the brain and skull.
Bond said her baby now seemed to be “doing better” but remained more of a “high-needs” baby than his twin (who is already discharged and living at home.) She added she had also booked him into a developmental clinic to assess any long-term effects caused by the injuries.
Bond told the Post she would be suing Quinte Health Care for neglect but said it was too early to estimate the amount of financial compensation she would be seeking. A claim has yet to be filed.
Hospital Manager Carol Smith Romeril said the organisation was “devastated” over the incident and had apologised to the family. “This is a very experienced, highly-qualified, great nurse. The nurse reported this incident immediately… Our staff are also human and so when things like this happen we are really sorry.”
Mum Central hopes that baby Keiran makes a speedy recovery and has no ongoing injuries as a result of this terrible incident. This incident is also a great opportunity to discuss the working conditions of our own Australian nurses and the pressure and demands of their roles.
