Health ministry to inspect Ad-din Hospital as it seeks licence back

The hospital says it has corrected deficiencies after its permit was revoked over six child deaths

Ad-din Medical College Hospital has applied to regain its cancelled licence after “correcting the issues” identified following the deaths of six infants.

The health ministry will send officials to assess the current condition of the private hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar.

At the Secretariat on Monday, Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain said, "Ministry officials will inspect the hospital and assess the situation on the ground.

“If the inspection finds satisfactory progress, the government will take the necessary decision,” he added.

Asked whether the government was reconsidering the licence cancellation, the health minister said inaction over six deaths would have drawn criticism.

“That's why action was taken against the hospital immediately after the incident.”

"The hospital was directed to fix structural issues, including in its ICU, and the authorities have said they are working on those repairs."

On the affected families, Sakhawat said he understood the hospital had provided financial support to the bereaved family, though a case over the incident remains before the courts, with any decision to follow the legal process.

"The health ministry hasn't given the hospital any final clearance yet. The next decision will only be made after a fresh inspection," he added.

Six newborns died one after another in the post-delivery ward of Ad-din Hospital on the morning of May 27, a day before Eid-ul-Azha.

A health ministry probe committee formed to investigate the deaths found evidence of "negligence" by the hospital authorities in its report.

The report identified overcrowding, prolonged air conditioning outages with no alternative ventilation, and a resulting rise in carbon dioxide levels in the air as the probable causes of the infants' deaths.

The health minister presented the probe committee's findings at a press conference on Jun 4.

The Directorate General of Health Services issued a show-cause notice to the hospital that same afternoon, asking why its licence should not be revoked over the deaths, with a response due by 5pm on Jun 7.

The directorate later granted it a further 48 hours following a request from the hospital authorities.

The hospital's licence was subsequently revoked on Jun 11.