A shortage of incubators at a hospital in South Africa was to blame for an incident in which newborn babies were pictured while placed in cardboard boxes, a nurses union has said.
The authorities in North West province are investigating the incident at the neonatal section of Mahikeng Provincial Hospital after a Facebook post shared over the weekend showed babies wrapped in hospital blankets and placed in brown boxes.
Hospital boss Madoda Sambatha said they were investigating to establish how long the babies had stayed in the boxes, according to local outlets.
But the nurses union, Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa), said there was no need for an investigation as there was shortage of equipment at the hospital.
“Nurses are always forced to improvise under these constant conditions that are characterised by reduction of budgets for procurement of equipment and resources in health-care facilities,” North West provincial secretary Reuben Molete is quoted as saying.
He said the investigation was an "attempt to throw under the bus the dedicated and hard-working healthcare workers ".
Mr Molete claimed the neonatal intensive care unit at the hospital had been short of 20 incubators and cribs for a long time.
The hospital has not responded to the accusation of shortage of equipment.
A nursing manager at the hospital is reported to have been suspended over the incident.
South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla has blamed the incident on poor management by those in charge of the facility.
