The South West Regional Health Authority is probing an incident  where a first-time mother delivered a premature baby but did not receive immediate attention.

A video circulating on social media showed the young woman lying on a hospital bed with her newborn baby wrapped in her arms, inside what looked like a pouch.

The SWRHA says it has noted the incident with concern, adding that the video portrayed an isolated and transient excerpt of an encounter of “a valued client” at an “acutely sensitive and private moment”.

It adds that an internal investigation will seek to determine “the extent of compliance to established practices and protocols in clinical and empathetic care…”

It adds that the baby was receiving specialist care in its high risk Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).