A baby boy may have been left brain-damaged after being delivered with a suction device and quickly developing a brain haemorrhage at Prince of Wales Hospital, the child's parents claimed yesterday.
After a meeting yesterday with doctors in charge of the case, the boy's father, Andy Ip Tat-ho, 30, urged the hospital to give a 'proper explanation' for his son's condition.
He said he was told that the doctor initiating the delivery in September was a trainee with just one month's experience on an obstetrics ward.
'My baby is an innocent victim. He would have been a healthy baby,' Ip said, holding back tears.
His son, Ip Pak-hei, has been under intensive care since his birth, and has had three operations for brain-fluid accumulation and inflammation. Doctors said he might have permanent mental and sensory damage.
The trainee failed to deliver the baby on the first try with the suction device and the boy's heart rate dropped. The trainee's supervisor succeeded on her second try. The baby had difficulty breathing and was confirmed the next day with a brain haemorrhage, according to the parents. Hospital obstetrics professor Leung Tak-yeung said the incident did not involve human error. The process was considered smooth, completed in 14 minutes with three attempts.
Pak-hei's mother, Law Wing-yee, 27, said she had asked to have a Caesarean delivery because she was so weak, but a nurse told her 'the doctors won't do it, it's not good for both you and the baby'. Doctors said they did not know about the request.