6 newborn deaths: Probe finds evidence of ‘negligence’ at Ad-din Hospital

The newborns in a neonatal ward were taken ill and suddenly died over the span of a few hours

A Ministry of Health investigation committee says it has found evidence of “negligence” in the mysterious deaths of six newborns at Dhaka’s Ad-din Medical College Hospital.

Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain highlighted observations by the probe panel at a press conference at the Ministry of Health on Thursday.

He said, “After visiting the scene on the ground, reviewing the statements of the victims’ families, doctors, nurses and staff, and considering the surrounding conditions, the investigation committee has unanimously concluded that the sudden and tragic death of six newborns at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Moghbazar between 5am and 9am on May 27, 2026, was clearly due to the absence of a doctor on duty at that time, the negligence of the nurses and staff and, above all, the hospital authorities.”

On Wednesday morning, the day before Eid-ul-Azha, all six children in a “post-operative” ward of the hospital suddenly fell ill and died one by one.

The incident caused “deep concern, grief and anger” across the country.

The Ministry of Health formed a three-member investigation committee to probe the incident.

The committee submitted its report to the ministry on Wednesday. As promised, the health minister presented a summary of the committee’s report to journalists.

He said the investigation committee visited the hospital and made several important observations. They are:

• Unsuitability of the building: The investigation committee visited the hospital and agreed that the building is not suitable for the operation of the hospital.

• Lack of ventilation and oxygen: After visiting the relevant post-operative room 2, it was found by the committee that oxygen deficiency had developed in the room due to the AC being off for a long time and lack of normal ventilation. On the other hand, the amount of carbon dioxide was higher than normal.

• Extreme negligence in duty: The committee says that the statements of the nurses in charge of the room, the cleaners and the parents of the deceased newborns have proven that there was “extreme negligence and lack of cooperation” in the nurses' duties. There was no active emergency medical response in the hospital during the sudden physical deterioration of the newborns.

• Negligence in treatment: The report says that the concerned nurse did not respond to the parents' calls and kept wasting time without informing any doctor about the matter. Necessary or appropriate medical care was not provided to prevent the death of the newborns.

• Presence of excess crowds: At that time, about 50 people, including 11 patients, newborns and relatives of the patients, were present in the approximately 900-square-foot room, which is far more than the capacity.

• Administrative failure: The investigation committee says that the people in charge of the hospital's administration were “incapable of fulfilling the basic conditions of running the hospital”.