The investigation report, looking into the causes behind a series of 32 unusual deaths at Sylhet’s MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, has been handed in by the hospital’s probe committee.
Although there was no official comment about the contents of the report, a reliable source at the hospital told the Dhaka Tribune that negligence by on-duty doctors and nurses was mentioned by the probe committee as one of the causes leading to the deaths earlier this month.
Other causes mentioned in the report included ongoing hartals and blockade, mismanagement at the hospital, and manpower shortage, said the hospital official.
Hospital Director Brig Gen Abdus Sabur Miah acknowledged receiving the report yesterday, and told the Dhaka Tribune that copies of the report have been sent to the Health Ministry and the health directorate.
However, the hospital chief did not comment on the findings presented in the report by the hospital’s probe committee.
Brig Gen Abdus Sabur said they were now waiting for a report by a separate Health Ministry investigation committee, which he said was yet to be submitted as far as he knew.
On February 10, at least 32 people including 10 infants died in a span of 24 hours at the hospital, creating an outcry across the country.
Following the deaths, the hospital authorities formed a six-member probe committee, headed by the hospital’s chief of medicine Dr Ismail Patwari.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry also formed a three-member committee, led by Joint Secretary (hospitals) Mosharraf Hossain, to look into the deaths and submit its report within seven days.
After inspecting the hospital’s paediatrics and cardiology wards on February 11, the committee from the Health Ministry said it would make its recommendations after reviewing all the details.
