Newborn Burns to Death Inside Malfunctioning Incubator in Egypt

Published December 21st, 2017 - 04:00 GMT
The head of Giza Health Affairs was later sacked and referred to interrogation over the incident (Shutterstock/File)
The head of Giza Health Affairs was later sacked and referred to interrogation over the incident (Shutterstock/File)

A technical malfunction in an incubator at al-Warraq Central Hospital caused an infant to be burnt to death a few days after he was born.

The head of Giza Health Affairs was later sacked and referred to interrogation over the incident.

The father of the dead infant, Gerges Azmy, said in a phone call to al-Ashera Masa’an talk show on Wednesday evening that his child was put in an incubator because he suffered from a high level of bilirubin.

The child was three-days-old when he was placed in the incubator with the level of bilirubin at 15, said Azmy.

Six days later, the level of bilirubin increased to 18, after which a doctor reassured Azmy that the infant will leave the hospital in two days, Azmy explained.

Azmy said another infant who was placed in the same incubator, before his dead son, suffered from burns and was rescued by hospital staff.

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Giza, Mohamed Azmy, referred the medical staff responsible for the death of the infant to the Public Prosecutor’s Office for interrogation following the incident.

A committee formed by the prosecution inspected the incubator and confirmed that the death was caused by a malfunction in the device, according to Azmy.

 

 

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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