Doctor who called live baby dead suspended

The doctor who incorrectly pronounced a baby boy as dead, resulting in the baby almost being put into an incinerator, has been suspended, as have her medical qualifications, Anhui health authorities said Thursday.

The provincial department of public health said they had instructed the Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital in Hefei, to set up an expert panel to save the baby, who was born with congenital health conditions 18 days before being transferred to the hospital, and handle the accident in a serious manner and give administrative punishments to the people responsible for the accident, according to the notice released on its official website.

Jin Yulian, the president of the hospital, said that the attending doctor has been suspended and the nurse who sent the baby to the funeral parlor has been dismissed.

The hospital released an initial investigation report late Thursday saying that the baby was showing no vital signs, and the dereliction of duty of the doctors and nurses on the scene led to the death certificate being issued and the baby being sent to the funeral parlor, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The report said that because the boy's congenital diseases are hard to cure, the hospital has invited top medical experts across the country to participate in his medical treatment.

The baby now shows weak vital signs, and could die at any time, according to an announcement by the hospital in a news conference Wednesday morning.

Just 18 days after he was born, the baby was transferred to the children's hospital on October 28 by his parents, both in their 20s.

He was diagnosed with bilateral congenital choanal atresia, a congenital disorder where the back of the nasal passage is blocked, the attending doctor for the baby surnamed Zha was quoted as saying by people.com.cn.

The baby's condition was difficult to remedy, and he must breathe using his mouth, said the vice president of the hospital surnamed Sun.

With slim hope of remedying the congenital disorder, the parents signed an agreement to give up treatment. They left their child in the hospital and left Hefei on November 12.

As the hospital continued with the treatment, the baby's condition worsened Monday.

"His skin is green and purple and he has no breath and heartbeat," said Zha, who declared the baby dead.

However, the boy was found to be alive by a staff member of the funeral parlor surnamed Liu after he was sent for cremation on Wednesday. Liu said that the baby's eyes were wide open, he had weak breath and he waved his left hand over his head, reported the Hefei-based Xin'an Evening News.

After the parents, who were working in Jiangsu Province, were informed of the issue on Wednesday, the couple told the hospital that they agreed the baby should be handled according to the agreement.

The hospital has received and treated 39 abandoned babies so far this year, which has cost over 900,000 yuan ($147,690), Jin said.

It is a grim reality that more and more new babies with diseases are being abandoned by their parents, causing a burden for hospitals, Deng Liqiang, director of the legal department at the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, told the Global Times on Thursday, adding that this does not mean they should shirk the responsibility and that they should turn to civil affairs bureaus for help.