Thai hospital compensates family with 30,000 baht after medication mix-up

A hospital has compensated a family with 30,000 baht after a one year old infant was mistakenly given the wrong medication.

The child, who had fallen and hit his head in the bathroom, was taken to a hospital in Samut Prakan province to have a brain scan. During the journey to another hospital for a second scan, a nurse gave the toddler a sleeping pill to prevent them from moving during the procedure.

However, the pill turned out to be TCA (trichloroacetic acid), an external-use medication for treating warts. This led to the child being admitted to the ICU at Ramathibodi Hospital. The hospital has since admitted its mistake, blaming the mix-up on similar packaging and colour of the two medicines, and has promised to conduct an urgent investigation.

According to the recent update from a Facebook page, the hospital has taken responsibility for the oversight and has covered the initial expenses incurred by the child’s parents during their stay in the hospital. These costs include travel, meals, and personal items, totalling 30,000 baht.

As for the toddler’s condition, the doctors have performed an endoscopy to examine the internal injuries caused by the medication. However, the procedure had to be stopped midway as the child’s throat still had fresh wounds. While there has been some improvement in the child’s condition, the doctors have had to keep the child under sedation and use a breathing tube. The endoscopy will be repeated after a week of observation, reported KhaoSod.

Currently, the child’s condition is satisfactory. They appear more vibrant, the darkened skin on their lips has regained its natural colour, and the wounds on their throat are healing. The doctors are closely monitoring the child, who is now waking up more frequently and responding better to their environment.

While the doctors do not want to overuse sedatives, the child becomes restless when they see their mother leaving the room, which affects their breathing tube. This necessitates the use of sedatives.

The hospital has apologised for the incident, promising to take measures to prevent similar incidents in the future.