BMDC suspends registration of plastic surgeon for 6 months after death of child

Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council, or BMDC, has suspended the registration of Bijoy Krishna Das, a paediatric plastic surgeon, for six months for negligence during a surgery that led to the death of a child in 2021.

BMDC announced the suspension at a time when the role of the licensing and the regulatory body of the medical profession came under the sharp spotlight after the death of a newborn at another hospital in Dhaka and the mother's subsequent death due to post-labour complications.

Recently, many people http://bdnews24.com had spoken to alleged that the agency discourages the filing of complaints and deliberately delays the complaint resolution process. Some even went as far as suggesting that since the BMDC brass is all doctors themselves, they were unwilling to take steps against people in the same profession.

In the case involving Dr Das, BMDC said in a notice issued on June 21 that the council’s investigation established the plastic surgeon’s negligence which led to the death of an 11-month-old child after having a cleft surgery on Aug 22, 2021, at a private hospital in Dhaka.

The bereaved parents lodged a complaint against Dr Das with the BMDC, the civil surgeon of Dhaka district and the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services on Aug 29 of the same year.

“After thorough investigation and multiple interviews with both the parents of the deceased baby and the defendant, BMDC was able to establish negligence on Dr BK Das’s part and hereby suspends his registration for the next six months,” BMDC said.

According to the notice, Das, effective from Jun 22, will neither have the authority to prescribe medicine nor conduct or consult in any surgical procedure during his suspension tenure.

“Dr BK Das will not be able to introduce and identify himself as a physician during the period.”