By Lee Kyung-min
Postpartum care centers will face suspension of operations and could be shutdown if a large number of infants get infected with a disease at a center, according to the Health and Welfare Ministry, Wednesday.
The ministry announced a set of strengthened safety measures for postnatal care centers to prevent infants from contracting any virus after coming into contact either with infected medical staffers or with visitors.
It is common here for women giving birth to receive postnatal care at such centers for two to three weeks after childbirth. But loose regulations have resulted in a growing number of cases of infection.
Staffers at such centers will be obliged to be vaccinated, and visitors will be banned from direct access to newborns, except for their mothers.
The measure comes a month after some 120 infants were exposed to tuberculosis by a nurse who treated them after being infected herself with the virus. Of the 120 infants, more than 20 tested positive and had to take antibiotics. More than 70 parents filed complaints with the Prosecutor’s Office against the nurse and the operator of the center for negligence.
Under the ministry’s plan, all medical staff are required to be properly vaccinated for infectious diseases including hepatitis A and chickenpox, and those suspected of carrying any type of virus are banned from taking care of newborns until they are confirmed to no longer be infected.
Center operators should send staffers who are infected or are suspected of having a virus to a hospital for confirmation and treatment. If they fail to do so, they will be fined up to 5 million won. If a staffer is confirmed to have an infectious disease, the operator should also report it to the community health center immediately, or face another fine of up to 5 million won.
The ministry will make public the names of centers that fail to follow such rules. It will also suspend their operation or order the closure of a center where a mass infection occurs.
Center operators will be required to set up safety instructions and enforce toughened personal hygiene standards for their staffs.
While relatives can visit the mothers or babies at such centers without restrictions now, the new regulations will allow only one caregiver, usually the husband, to have access to the babies. Other visitors will be allowed to meet only the mothers but in a separate visiting room.
“Newborns are among the most vulnerable, and are prone to infection, and the highest level of safety is required in caring for them. We hope the new measures will help assure their safety and health,” a ministry official said.