The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
FM knew of Baby Box concerns for months
Nicola Sturgeon and her deputy John Swinney were warned of “concerns” about the ear thermometers in Scotland’s Baby Box programme nine months before the digital devices were removed.
Documents released under freedom of information show Scottish Government officials told senior SNP figures in May 2020 they were proposing to switch to an under-arm thermometer.
The move came weeks after our investigation found the government was repeatedly informed of a potential problem with the devices and the risk of “misleading” results when used on young babies.
But the change was not made until February 2021 after it was decided to wait until stocks of the ear thermometers had run out.
Newly released memos show the first minister and deputy first minister were sent a report from civil servants who were negotiating an extension to the government’s Baby Box contract on May 26 2020.
It was also sent to Jeane Freeman, health secretary at the time, and children’s minister Maree Todd overseeing Baby Box policy.
They were told of a supply issue with the infrared sensors in the ear thermometer caused by Japanese restrictions during the initial stages of the pandemic.
The memo stated: “Whilst the professional advice was not recommending the discontinuation of the digital ear thermometer in the current Baby Box, the recommendation was to include a digital under-arm thermometer in any future Baby Boxes.”
It added: “We would therefore propose to include under-arm digital thermometers in the Baby Box from December 2020.”
The change did not happen until February 25 2021, because the stocks lasted longer than expected.
Earlier discussions proposed waiting a year until this month to switch devices, but the move was brought forward due to pandemic supply issues.
Scottish Conservative public health spokeswoman Sue Webber said: “It is clear that concerns were being repeatedly raised by those potentially affected, yet it took months for these thermometers to be replaced.
“Given the nature of this scheme, it is crucial ministers are upfront on any potential safety issues going forward.”
More than 200,000 boxes have been sent out under the scheme, which boasts a 97% satisfaction rate.
In December 2016 – a month before Baby Boxes were launched – one official sent an email to colleagues to highlight long-standing NHS advice that ear thermometers could give “misleading readings”.
The safety issue was raised the following month by a member of the public in a social media talk involving officials.
The mother said her “baby was a couple of weeks old and this (thermometer) was giving ridiculously high temp readings”.
They were sent to a doctor who in turn told the family to attend hospital, where they were told the child’s temperature was normal and misreadings were “common with this thermometer”.
In January 2020, another member of the public contacted the government to ask why ear devices were being included, given the NHS advice.
After we highlighted the issue the following month, the government asked its advisers about the ongoing inclusion of the ear thermometers in April 2020, a month before ministers were told of the proposed change.
The government’s clinical lead for the National Neonatal Network responded by highlighting official Nice (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines state under-arm thermometers should be used on infants under the age of four weeks.
“It would seem appropriate to consider reviewing the type of thermometer (in) the Baby Box,” they said.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Clinical experts stressed there were no health or safety reasons to withdraw the digital ear thermometer from the Baby Box.
“As is clearly set out in the freedom of information release, it was only replaced, following discussions with health professionals, with an under-arm thermometer because they are more versatile and suitable from birth, but can still be used by other family members.”