Minister for Health, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, has directed that identification name tags for mothers and newborns must only be removed at hospital exit gates, following the recent baby theft at Mamprobi Polyclinic.
According to him, strict adherence to patient identification protocols is critical in preventing baby theft and mix-ups in health facilities.
The Minister gave the directive on February 20 when he visited the facility after the incident.
He urged staff to comply fully with guidelines from the Ghana Health Service, wear proper identification and collaborate closely with the police to strengthen security.
He stressed that tagging of patients serves as an important identification measure for mothers and babies and must not be tampered with at the ward level.
“Name tags should not be taken off at the ward level. Name tags, both the mother and the baby, should be taken off at the security gate, at the exit.”
“After going through all the protocols, settling your debts and you’re exiting the health facility, that’s where name tags must be taken off,” he added.
He explained that enforcing the tagging system could help reduce cases of baby swapping and theft in health facilities.
“We hear this a lot. Stealing of babies and complaints that, no this is not my baby. Tagging babies and tagging parents is very very important.”
The directive follows the arrest of Latifa Salifu for stealing a four-day-old baby boy from the Mamprobi Polyclinic in Accra. The baby has since been safely recovered and is receiving medical attention for minor infections.
The child’s mother, Precious Ankomah, reported that a woman disguised in a nurse’s peach-colored uniform took the baby under the pretext of administering medication and disappeared.
The suspect was apprehended at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on February 18 after a tip-off from her sister, and police investigations are still ongoing.
