A Study of an Infant Tagging System in a Maternity Hospital in Practice

Protecting newborn babies from abduction is a major concern for maternity care providers. Three-hundred abductions were reported between 1983 and 2014 in USA [1]. Electronic infant tagging systems support infant security through monitoring, and surveillance. Despite the high cost of implementation and maintenance, this highly sensi- tive protection system generates false alarms, adding an unnecessary burden on healthcare professionals. Few studies so far examined in detail the problems associated with the false alarms generated by the infant protective system. In this study, we report an analysis of dif- ferent types of alarms generated, and issues associated with an infant tagging system in a major Maternity Hospital setting in the Republic of Ireland. With Hospital permission, false infant tags alarms were observed and recorded over 10 consecutive days. Midwives were asked their recommendation for improvement, and an economic analysis of the impact of false alarms was undertaken. A descriptive statistical analysis is used to examine different alarms. 13.4 h of infant tag alarms were generated in 279 occasions over the 10 days. Frequent false alarms contribute to alarm fatigue and mistrust of the infant tagging system. A well-managed infant tagging system could save €10,944 annually on one ward. This study prompted service improvement initiatives that included training, and technological modification, which reduced the false alarm rate.