Newborn suffers burns to 95% of his body in alleged incubator overheating

A newborn has suffered burns to nearly 95 percent of his body after an incubator at a hospital in Dhaka’s Chankharpul allegedly overheated.

The family has also accused hospital staff of assaulting them when they sought answers.

Born at Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), the infant was taken to Royal Care Hospital on Saturday because no neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) bed was available, relatives said.

The newborn is now being treated in the NICU of DMCH’s Ward 211, with face, head, back and parts of the legs burnt.

“The newborn’s condition is extremely critical. Around 95 percent of his body has been burnt,” Dr Tazkia Haque of the hospital told bdnews24.com.

Royal Care Hospital’s in-charge Md Abdur Razzak denied that the incubator had overheated and rejected the allegation that the family had been assaulted.

The hospital said the infant was placed on a bed before his NICU admission was completed.

The incident occurred accidentally during the admission process, it said, adding that a short circuit may have been responsible.

Inspector Md Habibur Rahman, chief of DMCH Police Camp, said: “We have learned about the incident. It is being investigated.”

The newborn’s father Md Rabbani said his wife was admitted to Ward 212. She gave birth to a boy around 4am on Saturday.

“Soon after birth, the infant developed breathing problems. Doctors advised us to take him to the NICU immediately, but there was no vacant bed. A doctor suggested another hospital. Through a ward boy, I took the infant to Royal Care around 5am,” Rabbani said.

“I rushed over and saw the machine in which my newborn was placed engulfed in flames, with fire catching his body. We took him to the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery with the help of hospital staff. After an initial assessment, doctors sent him back to Dhaka Medical,” he said.

Rabbani alleged that doctors at Dhaka Medical sent the infant back to Royal Care. When he returned and asked about the incident, hospital staff assaulted him, he claimed.

Razzak said the infant had been placed on a bed before NICU admission. “We believe the accident may have been caused by a short circuit. It was purely an accident,” he said.

He denied negligence and said the alleged fight had been between relatives of other patients.