Incident causes social media uproar: Nurse seals baby’s mouth with a tape
CEBU, Philippines - A Facebook post of a father about his seven-day old baby whose lips were sealed with a tape while in a nursery at a private hospital in Cebu City stirred the social media yesterday.
He said he and his wife found out that it was a nurse who taped the baby’s lips because the child was reportedly noisy.
“Was there just NO TIME to check that? Do you just put tape over a baby’s mouth just because he’s too noisy? Did you take time to inspect and do your job properly? ARE YOU RESPECTABLE???,†the post on Facebook reads.
He said they saw what was done to their child when they visited the nursery at around 8 p.m. Thursday. When they asked the nurse on duty, the nurse reportedly replied that the baby was crying non-stop and became too noisy.
When his wife asked the nurse to remove the tape, the nurse reportedly replied simply, “You can go ahead and take it off yourself, Ma’am.â€
He said they tried but failed to remove the tape themselves so the nurse eventually intervened.
“The attending nurse had to eventually take it off herself and eventually do (sic) it and in the process, a piece of his upper lip’s skin ripped off with the tape as the nurse removed the tape,†the post reads.
The father said what they have experienced “is not even close to being professional or humane†especially after his wife found out later that the baby was crying because his diaper was already too wet.
He said they reported the incident to the desk officer on duty and they were instructed not to delete the photos he had taken.
The FREEMAN tried to get the side of the hospital and was informed that investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The father said the family is willing to give the hospital time to look into the incident thoroughly.
“The hospital has not really satisfied our concerns and they will have an emergency meeting about the situation,†he said, adding, that the baby remains in the hospital for other reasons.
“They handle your children there like puppies out of a dog pound. I personally have seen this with my own eyes and I am very surprised this is what people call ‘a respectable establishment’,†his Facebook post reads.
Reaction
The post drew a slew of comments from Facebook users.
One user said the incident is inexcusable and should not be part of any standard operating procedure of any hospital. Another user said the incident should serve as a wake-up call for all hospitals and nurses. Other users even advised the parents to pursue legal action.
The FREEMAN is withholding the names of the parties involved in the incident while investigation is ongoing. — /JMO (FREEMAN)
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