Infant’s finger slashing: report by tomorrow

Nadira Gunatilleke

The report with recommendations relating to the investigation conducted on the slashing of a finger of a new born infant will be handed over to Health Ministry Secretary Dr Nihal Jayatilleke by tomorrow, a ministry spokesman said.

The spokesman said specialist doctor Rajapriya Balasuriya headed the team of investigators. The team spent nine hours at Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children’s Hospital in Peradeniya recording statements, he said.

Investigations revealed the victim is a premature baby with a low weight of one kilogram. The infant was earlier treated at Kurunegala Teaching Hospital and later transferred to Sirimavo Bandaranaike Children’s Hospital. A cannula had been inserted with difficulty by health staff to treat the infant. The nurse who slashed a part of the infant’s finger had 15 years’ experience.

The team will carry out investigation for two more days, the spokesman said. The finger of a six-day old infant was accidentally slashed by a nurse on August 22. Doctors performed a surgery to fix the finger as soon as they were informed of the incident. The finger was accidentally slashed when the nurse attempted to cut a plaster off the infant’s finger.