RADIO listeners have learnt that a baby boy who was given the wrong breast milk has been cleared of having HIV before his parents were told.
THE father of the three-week-old called talkback radio in distress on Monday, saying he was still waiting on HIV and hepatitis tests after his son was given the wrong breast milk at a Queensland hospital.
The child was taken to the Caboolture hospital, north of Brisbane, last week because he wasn’t gaining weight. While he was there a nurse gave the boy a bottle, only to return five minutes later to say it was the wrong one. The father described the hospital’s handling of the case as a comedy of errors. “Obviously it was no laughing matter for us,” he told Fairfax radio on Monday. “Not knowing what the situation is, is very stressful for my family.” The error was compounded on Monday when the hospital’s acting executive director Keith Love revealed, on air, that the woman whose breast milk was accidentally given to the baby was healthy. “The father and grandmother (of the baby) hadn’t received the up-to-date test results as of yet,” Mr Love told Fairfax radio. “But the … results are all clear. We will be communicating it officially, immediately.” 4BC radio host Patrick Condren asked Mr Love if he wanted to put his interview on hold so he could tell the boy’s worried parents. “So you can ring that family who are sitting at home just waiting to hear that. Can you do that for me?” Mr Condren said. “If you want to put me on hold, I’m happy to do that,” Mr Love said. Earlier in the interview, Mr Love issued an unreserved apology to the family. The hospital has promised to address any issues that are identified by a formal investigation, and staff involved have been counselled about following protocols for expressed breast milk.