Dubai hospitals to put tracking devices on newborns

The tags will alert the mother and the hospital if someone tries to move the baby without consent.

Dubai hospitals will put tags on newborns that will alert the mother and the hospital if someone tries to move the baby without consent. Wam
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DUBAI // Dubai hospitals will put electronic monitors on newborns’ ankles to stop them being lost or taken.

The tags will alert the mother and the hospital if someone tries to move the baby without consent.

Meanwhile, another system will monitor oxygen levels in the baby’s blood and alert parents and staff if the level drops below the normal rate.

The Dubai Health Authority said that there had been no baby-snatching incidents to prompt the move, and that it was simply an extra precautionary measure.

“The authority aims to provide hospitals, health centres and clinics with the latest smart technologies,” said Humaid Al Qatami, chairman of the board and director general of the authority.

Mothers and child care were at the heart of the authority’s 2016-2017 strategy, Mr Al Qatami said.

Dr Fuad Khan, a paediatrician and neonatologist at Al Zahra Hospital, said that the system to monitor oxygen levels would reduce the number of neonatal deaths.

“Many newborn babies die due to less oxygen levels and this device will help doctors to save newborns’ lives,” Dr Khan said.

nalramahi@thenational.ae