Singapore clinic sorry for cough syrup mix-up

SINGAPORE: A clinic in Bedok has offered an apology and compensation of his medical bills to the family of a 14-month-old boy, who was allegedly prescribed the adult dose of a cough medicine by mistake.

The toddler fell into a deep sleep that lasted a total of 44 hours, said his mother Belinda Lum, after she followed the instructions on the bottle of Fedac to give him 10ml of the syrup three times a day.

Qualitas Medical Group, the parent company of YSL Bedok Clinic and Surgery, said on Monday that it was investigating the matter.

Lum, 33, had taken her son to the clinic on Nov 22. Suspecting he had overdosed when he remained in deep sleep hours later, she rushed him to Gleneagles Hospital early the next morning, where he was given an antidote, she said.

The medical group issued an apology on Wednesday and said: “Qualitas has out of goodwill offered to reimburse the child’s parents for all medical bills incurred as a result of this unfortunate incident.”

It also said it had assembled a team to ensure its safety procedures were reviewed and enforced.

Lum said the medical bill was US$2,000 (RM8,300).

In an earlier interview with The Straits Times, she said she spoke to the doctor and clinic manager after the incident, and that it was a clinic assistant who had made the error.

Qualitas, which has nine clinics in Singapore, also invited the child for further examination at their paediatrics unit, but Lum said she would not be sending her son back as she did not trust them.

Fedac is a medicine that contains an antihistamine and decongestant.

Lum said her son only had a third of his strength back and had lost weight after the incident.