An inaccurate prescription from a clinic has reportedly led to a 14-month-old boy being taken to the hospital for a suspected overdose on cough medicine. The toddler’s mother, 33-year-old Belinda Lum, had taken him to YSL Bedok Clinic and Surgery last Wednesday to see a doctor about his cough. There, he was prescribed a bottle of Fedac syrup and allegedly told to take 10ml of the medication three times a day, instead of the standard amount of 2.5ml.
After her son “fell into very deep sleep”, she rushed him to Gleneagles Hospital, where he was given an antidote. She told The Straits Times that he slept for 44 hours in total, and she had to feed him water through a syringe every hour to keep him hydrated.
When his hands started trembling, Lum took her son to see a paediatric neurologist at Mount Elizabeth Orchard Hospital on Sunday. The boy has since recovered.
As for the clinic, when Lum called to tell them what happened, she claimed their reply was along the lines of a defensive, “so what you want us to do now?” Apparently, when she made a trip to the clinic to speak with the doctor, she discovered that this was not the first time the clinic had a case of negligence on their hands.
“It was the clinic assistant who dispensed the medication wrongly. I’ve asked for compensation and a public apology,” Lum explained to ST.
On fundraising platform Give.Asia, Lum recounted the incident in an attempt to “seek justice” for her son, raise awareness of the incident, and donate the money raised to charity.
She has since made an appointment to file a complaint with the Singapore Medical Council.
According to the Health Sciences Authority’s website, Fedac — whether in tablet or syrup form — should not be administered to children under the age of two. But one doctor explained to ST that general practitioners do dispense medication meant for older children or adults to young children, as they do not typically stock up on medication specifically for the young.
Qualitas Medical Group, the parent company of YSL, has stated that it reached out to the parents and apologized to the family for any distress they went through. “The reports are deeply concerning and we are investigating the matter thoroughly. Our heart goes out to the parents who must have gone through great distress.”
Qualitas also said that it offered to reimburse the child’s parents for all medical bills incurred as a result of this incident, and put together a team to review and enforce safety procedures.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the response from Qualitas Medical Group.
