Premature Baby

Nurse Falls Asleep and Drops Premature Baby

A nurse at Belleville General Hospital was feeding a baby on her lap when she fell asleep and the child fell to the floor. Quinte Health Care says that the unfortunate incident involved a “very experienced and highly-qualified nurse.” The baby, Keiran Keller, fractured his skull in the fall. Apologetic hospital officials are investigating, but so far the nurse involved has not been suspended or punished for the incident.

Little Kieran and his twin brother Kayden were born at 29 weeks at Kingston General Hospital. Because the babies were more than two months premature they were transferred to Belleville on February 3 and placed in the special-care nursery. Kayden was released on February 10, but because of a lung condition and other health problems, Keiran remained in the hospital.

preemie Kieran Bond

A department manager called mom Kelsey Bond at 8 a.m. to tell her that the nurse had fallen asleep while feeding Keiran and woke to find him crying and on the floor. The hospital had a pediatrician examine the baby and reported that the child was “fine.” The fall happened sometime around 3 a.m. and Kelsey was upset about the 5-hour delay in being notified.

Chief nursing officer Carol Smith Romeril would not disclose certain specifics of the incident, including the name of the nurse, how and at what time exactly the fall occurred, and other “human resource” information.

When Kelsey Bond arrived at the hospital accompanied by her mother, she asked the hospital to do a head ultrasound. A second pediatrician assured her that the baby was fine, but Kelsey thought Kieran’s head looked a bit swollen and was red on the left side. She had a gut feeling that everything was not ok for her baby.

Having nearly lost the infant once, she believed it was risky to leave him at that hospital, so asked that Kieran be transferred by ambulance back to Kingston General Hospital. The transfer happened on February 21.

At Kingston Bond requested another ultrasound, and the staff followed that procedure with a CT scan. The scan revealed a depressed fracture of the skull and an acute subdural hematoma – a collection of blood between the brain and the skull. After another ultrasound on February 27, Keiran was released from the hospital, but still didn’t feel well and became dehydrated. This time Bond took her son to Peterborough Regional Health Center. From there he was transferred back to Kingston for additional treatment and finally released on March 2.

preemie Kieran Bond

The Marmora, Ontario mother and her husband Kyle Keller plan to sue Quinte Health Center over the incident.

SOURCE


About the author

Vicki

Vicki Clinebell is a former television advertising executive who spent 25+ years with an ABC television affiliate in sales and marketing. A journalism major in college at the University of Colorado/Boulder, she now writes for a variety of online and print publications and provides blog content for clients including retail businesses and artists. The diversity of subject matter appeals to her, whether she’s reporting on the latest trends in baby gear, highlighting stories about outdoor adventures, or explaining basic pet-care tips. Even better, she says, is the shorter work commute… just down the hall, and a dress code that’s changed from suits and heels to jeans and a sweatshirt.

2 Comments

  • Well done! Sue the crap out of them. Also these nurses are also overworked, they also need time to rest especially when working with infants or anyone else, it’s true she should of told someone she was tired and to take over. Hospital negligence by calling after 5 hrs. My advice hire more people

  • This is absolutely unacceptable if they are being overworked they need to hire more nurses alive matters more than money thank God for his Mercy and healing the little baby

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