NHS apology after baby given wrong breast milk

A hospital trust has apologised to the parents of a baby who was given another mother’s breast milk after being born prematurely.

Melissa and Callum say they were “let down repeatedly” during their son Milo’s treatment at Leicester Royal Infirmary (LRI) and Leicester General Hospital (LGH).

Milo, who was born at 26 weeks in March, was fed stored breast milk from a woman who was not his mother on three occasions.

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL), which runs the hospitals where Milo was treated, apologised to his parents and said changes had been made to its processes.

Melissa said: “Milo received another mother’s breast milk. Not for one feed, not even for two, but for three feeds.”

This led Melissa to become so anxious “that my milk supply turned into nothing”.

“I thought, what if he’s got an infection from it? Because there’s so many unknowns with other people’s bodily fluids,” she said.

The milk was fed to Milo through a syringe, from a bottle which had two labels on it – one for Melissa, and one identifying it as the milk of another mother on the ward.

The hospital later found that the milk was not Melissa’s.

Melissa said that she faced strange answers to questions she asked during ward rounds about Milo’s future treatment.

She said: “I was told by a consultant that we were going to be moved to LGH because ‘the junior members of her team were afraid to approach me because I ask too many questions’.

“This wasn’t the first time in our weeks there I was called angry, unapproachable and scary.”

UHL later told Melissa it was sorry its staff “did not have the skills” to support her fully.

After being at LGH for a few weeks, Melissa said Milo was “really showing signs of being unwell”.

Milo had X-rays and a sepsis screening, which came back clear.

However, at a staff handover on 25 May, she heard nurses saying they had only just disposed of breast milk which had been defrosted more than 72 hours earlier.

The NHS recommends defrosted breast milk is used immediately.

Melissa said: “I stormed down to the doctor that had done the screenings and X-rays and asked if that was causing his symptoms, to which he said ‘I can’t say yes and I can’t say no’, which gives me enough of an answer; I believe this breast milk had been used the night before.”

UHL said it was carrying out a wider review of how breast milk was handled, as a result of Milo’s care.

After being transferred to the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham for further treatment, Milo was eventually discharged on 7 July.

Julie Hogg, chief nurse at UHL, said: “We are truly sorry that Milo and his family did not receive the quality of care and support we strive to provide and for the distress they have experienced as a result.

“We have fully investigated their concerns and made changes to our processes, along with sharing the learning with colleagues involved in Milo’s care and the wider department.

“This includes making improvements for storing, labelling, and checking breast milk.

“I would like to thank Milo’s family for raising the concerns, which have directly influenced positive changes in our practices, and the way we interact with families.”

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