Health directorate finds 11 irregularities in Max Hospital

The Directorate General of Health Services has found 11 irregularities in Chattogram’s Max Hospital where a journalist’s 2 and a half years old daughter died due to alleged wrong treatment.

The irregularities included non-renewal of the hospital licence, hiring of doctors without appointment letters, lack of information about nurses and other staff and absence of a blood bank.

Kazi Md Jahangir Hossain, director for hospitals and clinics, sent a notice on Wednesday to the hospital asking it to submit a report in 15 days with detailed explanations about the irregularities.

“We warned that the licence of the hospital will be cancelled once it failed to do so,” he told bdnews24.com on Thursday.

The 150-bed hospital did not apply for licence renewal and has no specific information about the appointment of specialist doctors, cleaners and other staff, according to the notice.

Information about pathologists and other medical technologists was not available either, it said.

Raifa Khan, daughter of Dainik Samakal’s Chattogram-based Senior Correspondent Rubel Khan, died due to alleged wrong treatment at the hospital on June 29.

Rubel earlier told bdnews24.com that his daughter had been admitted to the hospital because she had a throat ache due to a cold and was refusing to eat.

“They gave her antibiotics and she expressed discomfort. The hospital administration was informed and they suggested contacting a child specialist.”

When journalists launched a demonstration at the hospital on the night of Raifa’s death, alleging she has been ‘killed’, police took the duty doctor and nurse to the local station.

Bangladesh Medical Association’s Chattogram unit General Secretary Faysal Iqbal was rude to the journalists’ leaders there, the journalists alleged.

Amid continued protests by the journalists’ unions, the directorate formed a three-member committee, headed by Dr Jahangir, to investigate the death of Raifa.

The Chattogram Press Club and Chattgram Union of Journalists demanded closure of the hospital at a news conference on Thursday.

Chattogram Press Club President Kalim Sarwar said their demonstrations were not against all the doctors, but some particular ones who had a hand in Raifa’s death.

“Now a quarter with vested interest is trying to pit the two groups of professional against each other,” he alleged.

CUJ President Nazimuddin Shyamal demanded Ant-Corruption Commission investigations into alleged grafts at the hospital.

Shuklal Das and Hasan Ferdous, general secretaries of Chattogram Press Club and CUJ, respectively, also spoke at the news conference.