Home
+
Published : 12 Jul 2026, 01:39 AM
The death of a 4-month-old child at a private hospital in Dhaka’s Shyamoli has again raised questions over the quality of care in private healthcare facilities and how closely they follow
government rules.
The child died on Jun 23 at Shyamoli Baby Care and General Hospital. The family alleged the death was linked to a leak in the oxygen line, a claim the hospital authorities denied.
The incident came weeks after six newborns died within hours at Ad-din Hospital in Dhaka on May 27. The government later revoked the hospital’s licence after finding evidence of
negligence.
bdnews24.com visited Rupayan Shelford, a Shyamoli building that houses eight specialised private healthcare centres, including Shyamoli Baby Care and General Hospital.
Six Facilities Open, Doctors Hard To Find
Of the eight health centres in the building, six were found operating. Islam Diagnostic Lab and Doctors Care Hospital and Diagnostic Centre were closed.
The operating centres included Dhaka Trauma Centre and Specialised Orthopaedic Hospital on the third floor, Sonar Bangla Foundation’s Comprehensive Kidney Care Centre on the fifth, Shyamoli Baby Care and General Hospital and High Care Orthopaedics and General
Hospital on the seventh, City Care General Hospital and Diagnostic Centre on
the eighth, and Dhaka International Hospital on the 13th.
But during visits to several of these facilities, doctors were not found on site. Staff at more than one hospital said physicians were not always present and were called in when needed.
The Directorate General of Health Services says that is not acceptable if patients are admitted.
“If a hospital has admitted patients, doctors must be present,” DGHS Director General Prabhat Chandra Biswas said. “Hospitals cannot be run only with call-in doctors. Action will be
taken against those doing this.”
Emergency Rooms with Little Equipment
The government issued 10 directives on Feb 22, 2024 for private hospitals, clinics and diagnostic
centres. One of the key requirements is that hospitals must meet all conditions based on licence category and bed capacity.
At Rupayan Shelford, bdnews24.com found evidence that several of the facilities were not meeting those conditions.
Some hospitals had carved small rooms out of larger spaces. Some had emergency departments, but little equipment beyond a bed.
On the seventh floor, High Care Orthopaedics and General Hospital, a 20-bed facility, had no doctor present during the visit. Its emergency room was also poorly equipped.
A man identifying himself as medical officer Md Liton said the hospital had five cabins among its 20 beds and six doctors who worked at different times.
“None of them are here now,” he said. “Patients are brought in after speaking to the doctors.”
Shyamoli Baby Care and General Hospital, also on the seventh floor, has suspended operations since the child’s death. DGHS records show its licence expired in June.
The child’s father, Md Faruk, blamed the death on what he described as an oxygen leak.
“My child was improving with treatment,” he said. “My child died because of an accident, but the hospital authorities are not admitting it.”
The hospital authorities said the child’s condition had already been deteriorating and denied any link between the oxygen line and the death.
Expired Licences, Gaps in Staffing
City Care General Hospital and Diagnostic Centre, a 50-bed facility on the eighth floor, was also operating with an expired licence. Its licence expired on Jun 30 last year.
Under DGHS rules, a 50-bed hospital should have 15 doctors, 30 nurses and 15 cleaning staff.
Masum Billah, who identified himself as the hospital manager, said it currently had 13 patients and three medical officers, but no specialist doctor on site.
“We have more than 12 to 13 doctors, but they are not here all the time,” he said. “They come for rounds and leave. We call them when needed.”
Although the hospital does not have approval for dialysis, Masum said it had the setup and sometimes provided the service depending on a patient’s condition.
Dhaka Trauma Centre and Specialised Orthopaedic Hospital, a 40-bed facility on the third floor, had one doctor and three nurses present during the visit. Under government requirements, it should have 12 doctors, 24 nurses and 12 cleaning staff.
Hospital manager Farhana Akhter said about 12 patients were admitted and surgeries were performed there.
“This is mainly a doctor-based hospital,” she said. “Doctors bring in the patients.”
Asked about requirements for surgical staff, she said doctors who performed operations arranged the necessary personnel themselves.
Patients Sent by Drivers and Middlemen
Patients and relatives said many came to these hospitals after failing to find beds in public hospitals. Some said ambulance drivers or brokers had directed them there.
Anisuzzaman, who was waiting outside High Care Orthopaedics and General Hospital, said his son-in-law had undergone surgery for a broken leg after agreeing on a Tk 30,000 package.
“I never spoke to the doctor,” he said. “The agreement over the operation cost was made with hospital staff.”
Fakhrul Islam came from Barishal with his five-month-old daughter. He said Dhaka Medical College Hospital had not admitted the child, and an ambulance driver suggested this hospital while the family was looking for another facility.
“We wanted to go to Shishu Hospital,” he said. “Since Friday, we have paid Tk 12,000 only for medicines. We still do not know how much the NICU bill will be.”
Sagar Hossain, who came from Chattogram, said his brother needed both legs amputated and the family had agreed on a Tk 140,000 package.
“We were at the orthopaedic hospital, but the surgery would have taken time there,” he said. “Someone there told us to come here.”
DGHS Says Action Will Follow
DGHS Director for Hospitals and Clinics Abu Hussain Md Moinul Ahsan said there is no legal bar on having multiple hospitals in one building. “The real issue is whether they can provide quality care and follow the rules,” he said.
He said the DGHS was conducting drives outside Dhaka in divisional cities and would soon resume inspections inside the capital.
“Action will be taken against illegal facilities or those not following rules,” he said.
On the child’s death at Shyamoli Baby Care, DGHS chief Prabhat said the hospital’s operations had been suspended and two other hospitals on the same floor were being monitored.
Public health expert Dr Mushtuq Husain said hospitals that cannot provide the level of care they are licensed for should face action.
“If they do not have enough doctors, they should be declared primary healthcare centres,” he said.
Dr Husain, who advises the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, said there was no reason to allow facilities to operate as specialised hospitals if they could not deliver specialised care.
