EDMONTON - Alberta Health Services and a number of hospital staff at the Royal Alex are being sued by an Edmonton couple, who claim their son was fed another woman's tainted breast milk while in the neo-natal intensive care unit.
Following the January 2011 incident, Celeste Fleming was told that both she and her son Kade would have to be tested, along with the woman whose breast milk had been used.
After two months had passed, the parents say they phoned the hospital asking for the results and received a voicemail in return, telling them that the other mother had tested positive for Hepatitis C, and that the Flemings' son would need to be tested when he turns six months old to make sure he hadn't contracted the disease.
It wasn't until six months after the boy had been tested that his parents were told that their then one year-old didn't have Hepatitis C.
According to Robinson LLP, the law firm representing the Flemings, the proper protocols had not been followed to ensure Kade was given the proper breast milk.
One of those recommended protocols when giving 'expressed' breast milk to a child in hospital is that there should be two people checking the identification on a child's wrist and matching it to the label on the bottle that's being administered.
The firm also claims the mix-up isn't isolated.
It refers to a March 2010 report by the Health Quality Council of Alberta (HQCA), which cites two previous studies addressing this problem:
• A 2006 study determined 21 expressed breast milk incidents were reported in Calgary Hospitals between 2001 - 2006
• A 2009 study found the Stollery Children's Hospital had 6 expressed breast milk mix-ups between January 2007 - March 2009, while the Alberta Children's Hospital had 4 incidents between October 2006 - March 2009
"How many times are parents not even notified? I don't know. How many children are walking around having been exposed to pathogens in tainted breast milk, and the parents don't know, and the kids don't know, and it's going to come to light later on," wonders lawyer Carol Robinson.
While Kade is doing well, his parents continue to seek counselling after what was a stressful year for them.
"They had largely spent the first year of his life being so absolutely anxious about his potential condition ...this period of time that should have been joyful, and full of first wonders ended up being a time of extreme anxiety."
The couple is seeking more than three million dollars in their lawsuit, which includes a punitive damage aspect. It names several doctors and a 'Jane Doe,' who represents any nurses who may have come into contact with baby Kade.
"I think there is a flagrant disregard for the importance of expressed breast milk to be treated as a bodily fluid. Pathogens can be present and be given to really fragile patients here," says the lawyer. “In this particular case...we believe something ought to be done about it, that a statement needs to be made, and we have to prevent further mix-ups in the future.”
AHS will not comment on the case, but may provide information about protocols this afternoon.
It's important to note that the claims made in the lawsuit have not yet been proven in court.
With files from Laurel Clark and Erin Chalmers, Global News
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