Deadline for Ad-din Hospital probe report extended to Jun 3

The probe panel needs more time to talk to the mothers of the newborn and hospital staff to clarify the situation, an official says

The Directorate General for Health Services (DGHS) has extended the deadline for the submission of the investigation report into the deaths of six newborns at Ad-din Medical College Hospital in Dhaka's Moghbazar. The investigation committee formed will now submit its full report on Jun 3.

DGHS Additional Director General Zahid Raihan said that the probe panel needs more time to talk to the mothers of the newborns who died because so many children could not have died in one ward without them being alerted.

He also said that the investigation has found that a mother called the nurses at 4am and is necessary for the panel to learn how long afterwards the hospital administration took action. The investigation committee has asked for more time to interview people to clarify these aspects, and deadline has been extended accordingly.

"We want an honest report to be filed. We want to give the committee time to submit one," he said.

On May 27, six newborns died in a post-operative ward of the hospital. The committee formed to investigate the matter was asked to submit the investigation report within 72 hours. Accordingly, the investigation committee submitted a partial investigation report and sought time till Jun 3 for its full report. In view of this, the Ministry of Health has extended the time for submitting the investigation report.