'An NHS hospital has become the first in the country to issue all new born babies with bar codes instead of traditional handwritten tags. Kettering General Hospital’s maternity unit has introduced the system to end mistakes caused by the illegible handwriting of medical staff.

Now all newborns are getting a personal bar code strapped on their ankles which midwives zap with a scanner to read the baby’s details. Medical staff can find the child’s name, date of birth, national insurance number and name of the mother in a matter of seconds. They can also trace blood samples at the press of a button via a regional laboratory that tests for conditions such as sickle cell disease and cystic fibrosis.'

Read more: Newborn Babies to Get Bar Codes Instead of Handwritten Name Tags