The Ministry of Health launched yesterday a new layer of security to help ensure the safety of newborns in its hospitals in the Kingdom.

“The ministry installed the Hugs and Kisses Infant Protection System to safeguard its infants and children from the threats of abduction, mismatching, swapping, or mixing up of newborns in the maternity hospitals,” Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Bawardi, clinical information systems manager at the Ministry of Health, said yesterday following the launch of the new program.

Al-Bawardi said the electronic system was introduced at 16 maternity hospitals that function under the umbrella of the Ministry of Health. This will be extended to 149 more maternity hospitals spread throughout the Kingdom.

He also pointed out that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Services had sought the help of the various concerned private sector hospitals to implement this program, which would be in the interests of the parents and the newborns. “The health officials who are involved in the program should be given the relevant training to carry out this program successfully,” he added.

The health official explained that 62 percent of the abduction or mixing up of babies happened in the mother's room at the hospital. Therefore, the ministry has been carrying out several awareness campaigns – among others the distribution of brochures – to advise the mother on how to protect her newborn. “This new electronic system would solve a major part of those problems and prevent such untoward happenings,” he noted.

Al-Bawardi said the electronic system relied on radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, a wireless non-contact system that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a bracelet at the wrist of the mother to a bracelet around the child’s ankle.

Dr. Faisal bin Musalli, director of the Al-Yamamah Hospital in Riyadh, said that the new electronic system was introduced by the hospital as a preventive measure. He stressed that the hospital did not experience any abductions or mix-up of infants at birth in its history. However, he added that the new system would definitely prevent such risks.

“We have trained our staff and nurses to handle this system without any problems,” Musalli said.

Under the new system, a soft yet durable bracelet is strapped around the baby’s ankle with a matching bracelet attached to their mother. The bracelet is unobtrusive, comfortable and tamper-proof. Each tag is automatically programmed and monitored by the computer in the maternity department.

The computer console displays floor plans of the unit showing monitored areas and doors. Alarms are generated if the strap is cut or tampered with, if the infant is moved to an unauthorized zone, or if the tag's signal is no longer detected. The system activates security cameras that record activity at the door at the time of the alarm and one minute prior to the alarm.

Each mother is given a small tag (the Kisses tag) that is bonded with her infant’s Hugs tag at birth. From that point forward, the tags remain bonded throughout their stay in the hospital. Nurses are immediately alerted of a mismatch with an audible indicator.

Hugs tags enroll automatically when placed on an infant and are individually monitored. Each tag sends a status signal to the main console to confirm its presence and functionality. If a signal is not received within a designated period, an alarm will be generated. The system performs automatic self-checks on all components and advises staff of any problem.

In the event of an attempted abduction, the Hugs system will immediately inform security and the nursing staff where the alarm has occurred.

All exits from the department are protected by a network of receivers and monitors.

The round-the-clock system does not require any further manual checking or activation.