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baby feet file image via Shutterstock

'Dead' baby wakes at funeral parlour before cremation

The critically-ill boy had been issued with death certificate – a doctor has been suspended, a nurse fired and a probe launched.

A CHINESE BABY boy who had been declared dead was saved from being cremated alive when he started crying at a funeral parlour, media reported in China today.

The parents of the critically-ill boy, who was less than one month old, had agreed to end his medical treatment at Anhui Provincial Children’s Hospital in eastern China, hospital sources told Xinhua state news agency.

A death certificate was issued before the baby was sent to an undertakers in Hefei, the provincial capital – only for staff there to be alerted by crying yesterday.

It was unclear how long he had been at the funeral parlour, or when his cremation had been due.

The baby was immediately sent back to the hospital, several news outlets including the Beijing News reported today.

“Because the baby still had life signs, we continued to give him transfusion to maintain his life for humanitarian reasons,” a hospital staff member told Xinhua.

Receiving treatment

The baby was born with a “congenital respiratory system malformation”, the agency added.

He was receiving treatment at the hospital late yesterday evening, reports said.

A doctor had been suspended, a nursing worker laid off and an investigation launched into the incident, Xinhua cited the hospital as saying.

Users of China’s weibo microblogging services were outraged, blaming both the boy’s parents and the doctors involved.

- © AFP, 2013

China to relax one-child policy, abolish labour camps>

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    Mute Danny Mike Hennessy
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    Nov 21st 2013, 3:59 PM

    Why was the nurse fired? Surely the doctor made the call?

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    Mute Ami Dunne
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    Nov 21st 2013, 4:29 PM

    Cz nurses always get the shit end of the stick

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    Mute David Sharp
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    Nov 21st 2013, 9:27 PM

    Doctors make calls sometimes based on information given by nurses!!

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    Mute Conor Bredin
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 7:17 AM

    A nurse should be able to tell the difference between life and death, and reported the doctor for saying he was dead!!

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    Mute Stephen McShane
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    Nov 21st 2013, 4:28 PM

    WHAT IN THE HOLY FCUK

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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Nov 21st 2013, 4:54 PM

    Seems to me the baby has some pretty severe issues and the parents withdrew treatment to let him die. Everyone jumped the gun though and sent him off to the funeral parlour before he had passed away. Hospital are treating him now again so I wonder if he has a chance at making it after all. I hope so. Poor little guy

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    Mute Paul Somers
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    Nov 21st 2013, 4:00 PM

    How can they blame the parents. Bloody incredible all the same.

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    Mute Phyllis Murphy
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:30 PM

    The child had a congenital breathing problem, he was not perfect. When you can only have one or possibly two children it would appear people do not want to keep the less than perfect ones :(

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    Mute Peter 'Nocky' Naughnane
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:45 PM

    Unfortunately, this is true in China. Sickening really.

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    Mute Yvonne Hansbury
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:40 AM

    Apparently in china you can only have a second child if you or your husband had been an only child, F***ed up ain’t the word.

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    Mute Trish Burke
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    Nov 21st 2013, 4:16 PM

    The doctor is responsible for actions taken,certainly not nurse or parents ,now nurses career will be tainted in this line of work

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
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    Nov 21st 2013, 10:49 PM

    So a nurse has no responsibility in patient treatment? Some of them certainly behave that way, granted. That type of belief might go a long way to explaining things in our health service mind you.

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    Mute bob
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 2:49 AM

    So Patrick it sounds like you blame nurses for all the wrong in the world . . . . As far as I’m aware nurses don’t certify a death. Hence can not pronounce a person. So how was it all the nurses fault as you imply? And how is this case connected to the state of the health system in ireland?

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 11:07 AM

    Bob, I’m very surprised that you can decide that I blame all the wrongs in the world on nurses based on my comment that I believe that a nurse should be able to tell a doctor if they believe they are making a mistake. And to be fair, knowing if someone is dead or alive is a pretty big mistake. You deciding you know me well enough to know whom I blame what on is a typically stupid comment from someone deciding that they know everything about everyone. My comment on the health system here comes from the idea that a nurse should bear no responsibility for decisions taken on patient care. If we believe that, then maybe this lack of ownership for decisions taken in our hospitals may contribute to some of the awful decisions that are taken in our hospitals. And no, I don’t believe all decisions taken in hospitals are awful but certainly some are. Now hopefully that will clarify my position, even for someone like you.

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    Mute bob
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:17 PM

    Patrick I do not nor do I claim to know everything about you. However your comment is a sweeping one and has nothing to do with the Irish health care system. How about instead of criticising people who work in difficult situations we take a second to think before we type?

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:26 PM

    Bob, on numerous occasions I said “some” is this not the opposite to a sweeping statement? And you felt you knew me enough to decide that I blame all the wrongs in the world on nurses? Or did I dream you said that? Which of us used a sweeping statement Bob? I think you will find it was you. But don’t let facts bother you too much. If you didn’t get the point I was making about our healthcare system, it was that one of the previous commentators seemed to be suggesting that nurses bear no responsibility for wrong decisions. My point was that if this attitude was a prevalent one, maybe that suggests a reason why people don’t make correct decisions as they feel that they are not responsible for the decisions which they make.

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    Mute executioner
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    Nov 21st 2013, 7:14 PM

    “Humanitarian reasons”that’s a word you don’t hear much of in China.

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    Mute Shane Leonard
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:02 PM

    Ha, first thing that sprang to mind was of Jack waking up from the dead in Father Ted !

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    Mute Irish Miniphotos
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:03 PM

    The poor parents. Been to hell and back.

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    Mute Tracey Marie Foley
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    Nov 21st 2013, 8:35 PM

    Holy Moly that was scary to read… Poor child. Hopefully he receives the proper treatment he deserves now and all will be well. But My God I’d say the undertakers got some shock.

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    Mute Fatima Murtaza
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:03 PM

    What kind of parents take their child for cremation when he’s not dead??

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    Mute Celia Murphy
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:17 PM

    Fatima, I think you need to read the article again!

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    Mute Mykl Jessop Quixote
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    Nov 21st 2013, 6:54 PM

    Yea Fatima look again

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    Mute Mick Rooney
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    Nov 21st 2013, 7:55 PM

    The kind of parents who are told by a doctor that their child has died.

    I’d also recommend you take some lessons on attentiveness and reading plain English before you go charging in with an emotive comment.

    Read the full article first before reaching for fifth gear!

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    Mute Michael O'Donovan
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    Nov 21st 2013, 8:59 PM

    I agree. If your child is alive, you should probably know

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    Mute Yvonne Hansbury
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:35 AM

    Ya exactly tutt tutt

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    Mute Clara Wolfe
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 10:22 AM

    That said, the baby’s heart could have stopped beating. Therefore they would be medically dead

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    Mute Patrick Murphy
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 11:10 AM

    I don’t think the baby’s heart stopping beating is enough to pronounce death. I could be wrong (I often am) but I think it’s brain activity. I may be mistaking medically dead and clinically dead though?

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    Mute Kevin Phillipson
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:15 AM

    That’s one saved but how many haven’t been so lucky.
    Hope he’s ok.

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    Mute laura
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 11:42 AM

    Just for the record nurses can pronounce people dead.doctors dont even have to be in the room

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    Mute Brenda Mellon
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 12:11 PM

    No nurses can not pronounce people dead!

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    Mute Melissa Evans
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    Nov 24th 2013, 1:01 AM

    Omg that is crazy

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    Mute laura
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    Nov 22nd 2013, 10:55 PM

    Excuae me brenda but they can I have witnessed it with my own eyes !

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    Mute Michael O'Donovan
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    Dec 5th 2013, 11:50 PM

    Excuae yourself

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