Baby dies, another in serious condition after being given laughing gas instead of oxygen

A newborn baby died and another is suffering serious brain damage after a hospital in Sydney, Australia, administered nitrous oxide instead of oxygen.

The newborn babies were being treated at a neonatal resuscitation unit at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital when they were accidentally given the gas known as 'laughing gas', reports 7News.

The health minister for New South Wales, Jiillian Skinner confirmed the incidents, saying the oxygen outlet was incorrectly installed and certified by a gas company .BOC Limited.

In his words:

"I am profoundly sorry for the families of a newborn who died and another newborn who was severely affected after the wrong gas was dispensed through a neonatal resuscitation outlet at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital.

"The families were advised the oxygen outlet in one of the hospital's theatres was incorrectly installed and certified by BOC Limited in July 2015.

"The error was discovered last Thursday (July 21) after a paediatrician raised concerns about the unexpected death of the second baby, which has been referred to the Coroner."

Nitrous oxide is used in some medical procedures such as dental work, and gets the term 'laughing gas' from the euphoria it can induce in those that inhale it.

The new mum

The devastated mother of the newborn who died, Sonya Ghanem,  described how she held her baby's lifeless body and urged him to "wake up, wake up".

"I held my baby; they [brought] him to me at the hospital," the mother, told Channel Nine. "I said, 'I want to see him.' Just looking at him, shaking. 'My son, wake up,' I would tell him. 'Wake up, wake up. What did they do to you?' "

The baby boy, named John, died at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital on July 13. Ms Ghanem told Channel Nine she was put under general anaesthetic to undergo a caesarean section at the hospital. She said when she woke up, she was told by a nurse that her baby son had died.