Years old milk given to baby (From Barry And District News)

Years old milk given to baby

BARRY parents whose baby son was given milk two years out of date are demanding an investigation into Llandough Hospital.

Royston and Amanda Zalick are furious that their nine-month son Harry was given food and drink well past its sell-by limit.

The couple also claim their son, initially admitted to hospital with a suspected viral infection, has now developed sickness and diarrhoea.

When Harry was admitted, Amanda said she was told she was not allowed to take her own milk into the hospital and he was given a formula feed from Llandough's supplies.

But Mrs Zalick noticed it smelt funny and went into the ward's kitchen where she noticed the sell-by limit on the box was January 1, 2000.

When nurses checked the rest of the stock they had to throw out half the supplies in the cupboard and the stock room.

The shocked couple also noticed that the cereal Harry was given was three months out-of-date. They found things particularly disturbing as the ward also cares for very sick and premature babies.

A spokesman for Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust, which covers Llandough Hospital, said: "We very much regret that out-of-date baby food was given to a young child on one of our wards.

"Since the error came to light we have thoroughly checked all our stocks of baby food and we have stepped up our procedures to avoid such mistakes in future.

"We have received a complaint and we will respond fully to the child's parents once all our enquiries are completed."

She added: "I must stress that no other child was affected and changes have been made to ensure this never happens again."