Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah recently supervised a test-run of the new system at the Maternity and Children’s Hospital in Jeddah’s Aziziyah district, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported on Thursday.

The ministry has introduced the system following a recent increase in the number of babies being kidnapped and accidentally swapped in hospitals across the Kingdom.

In a case that occurred last month in Madinah, a newborn boy was stolen from a hospital and abandoned at a park a few days later following a passionate plea by the child’s mother.

Dr. Sami Badawood, director of the Health Affairs Department in Jeddah, said the test-run was a success and welcomed the system’s introduction in Saudi Arabian hospitals.

Dr. Yasir Al-Ghamdi, director of the Children’s Hospital in Aziziyah district, said Al-Rabeeah personally supervised the test-run during a recent visit to the hospital.

“We will be the first government hospital in the Jeddah area to introduce it,” he said, adding that the system is being introduced in cooperation with an American company that specializes in such devices.

Al-Ghamdi denied reports that the system has any health risks or side effects for babies and mothers.

“The system operates using batteries. Studies have proved that there are no side effects when using the system,” Al-Ghamdi said.

The system — called Hugs & Kisses — offers a high level of security to babies and mothers, and has been in use at the International Medical Centre (IMC) hospital in Jeddah since 2006.

The system involves two devices: One (Hugs) is wrapped around the baby while the second (Kisses) is tied to the mother’s wrist. The device ensures the right baby is with the right mother. If the baby is given to the wrong mother, then an alarm goes off.

The system works round the clock and becomes active as soon as a tag is attached to an infant. The system also does not allow a baby to be taken out of a nursery floor unless the person taking the baby has a password to log out. Passwords are only given to responsible doctors.

The system is also linked automatically to doors and elevators. In the event of an alarm going off, the Hugs system can automatically activate locks or hold elevators.