Both a GP and Auckland District Health Board failed to treat a baby with reasonable care and skill after they failed to pick up a serious eye problem in a newborn, the health and disability commissioner has found.
The Ministry of Health recommends that red eye reflex screening (the accepted screening test for early detection of significant eye abnormalities) using an ophthalmoscope should be undertaken at birth or up to 7 days of age, and definitely by the 6-week assessment - but by 3 months old no one had picked up the girl's cataract.
The baby girl was born at an Auckland District Health Board public hospital but her red eye reflex was not checked during her time there. She was discharged when she was 6 days old but there was no clear communication to the midwife that the red eye reflex screening had not been done in hospital.
When the baby was 33 days old, the midwife realised that the baby's red eye reflex had not been tested and undertook this screening. The midwife believed that she saw the red eye reflex and documented accordingly.
The GP saw the baby for her six-week check but only tested the corneal reflexes (this test can be used to assess eye symmetry), and did not use an ophthalmoscope. The GP also saw the baby for her three-month check and again checked the baby's corneal reflexes but not the red eye reflex.