Although the inquiry into a family’s allegation that their newborn twin boys were stolen and replaced with a baby girl has not yet been concluded, doctors and senior officials at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) in Islamabad say the incident has exposed a communication gap in the hospital.
Pims Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram also admitted that the case has highlighted a communication gap and said senior doctors did not handle the situation well.
Mohammad Farooq lodged a complaint with the Pims administration and the police a few days ago in which he said that after an ultrasound, his wife had been told she was having twin boys.
He said Pims staff was also expecting to deliver two boys and had asked for clothes for two babies.
However, after a caesarean delivery, the family was handed a baby girl. Mohammad Farooq alleged that Pims staff had stolen his boys and handed him someone else’s baby girl.
A doctor at Pims said the incident has exposed a number of communication gaps and flaws which need to be addressed.
“The problem started with the ultrasound. Doctors usually tell patients that an ultrasound report can be incorrect because they are not real images, it is just a reflection of sound waves,” he said.
“A number of ultrasounds were held in different hospitals but all the doctors looked at the first one which said the mother was expecting twin boys,” he added.
It is the senior doctors’ job to tell the mother and family of a birth or any problems after birth, he said, adding that the doctors should also have warned the family of possible errors in an ultrasound.
“There is a communication problem in government hospitals where doctors send patients to nurses with their problems and nurses in turn send them to doctors again,” he said, adding that doctors and nurses in government hospitals also lack bedside manners.
He said that in this case, the doctors did not handle the situation well and should have told the family beforehand about potential errors in ultrasounds.Pims Vice Chancellor Javed Akram also agreed that doctors and other medical staff had not communicated with the family as is required.
“It can be said for sure that the babies were not stolen because 20 officials were present in the operation theatre which include a senior doctor and two of her assistants, an anaesthetist and two of her assistants. All of them cannot be involved in stealing the children,” he said.
Mohammad Farooq’s brother, Mohammad Salamat, however insisted that it was possible that a boy and girl were born and that Pims staff had stolen the baby boy.
“My brother has five daughters and he was told he will finally have two sons. I have contacted the police but they say they cannot arrest the staff without proof,” he said.
