HÀ NỘI — The Health Department in Hà Nội has asked hospitals in the city to review the process of managing new-born babies including caring, bathing and handing them to parents after a case of parents receiving the wrong babies was discovered at Ba Vì District’s hospital.

Hà Nội Obstetrics Hospital was asked to organise training courses and monitor the process at the obstetric departments of other city hospitals.

Previously, the Ministry of Health requested the municipal Health Department to issue harsh penalties to medical workers involved with the six-year-old case of babies being switched at birth at Ba Vì Hospital.

The mothers in this particular case are Phùng Thị Thu Hiền from Vân Trai Village of Tây Đằng Commune, and Vũ Thị Hương residing in Phú Mỹ Village of the district’s Phú Sơn Commune.

On November 1, 2012, the two pregnant women were admitted to the hospital.

The women gave birth to two healthy boys, with the second baby born 20 minutes after the first.

After receiving their newborn child, Hiền and her husband were concerned they had received the wrong child. However, they were assured by hospital staff that no mistake had been made.

The parents raised the child as their own, even though suspicions remained due to the child not looking like them. They eventually took the child for DNA tests at the Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Science Institute.

The DNA tests revealed that the baby is not their biological child, revealing the error of the maternity ward.

The couple sent a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Health.

Last week, the municipal Health Department asked the hospital to resolve the case and provide a report.

After checking their records, the hospital admitted fault in the incident.

Ba Vì Hospital’s director Nguyễn Quốc Hùng, on behalf of the hospital, said he bore the responsibility for the error, promising to help both families with completing paperwork for the two children within two weeks.

Two nurses, Vũ Thị Thanh Mai and Nguyễn Thị Đức, who were in charge of the deliveries on that day were disciplined for their mistakes.

The hospital paid for the DNA test and other fees and accepted to pay compensation to the two families as per the court’s decision. — VNS