Compensation, accountability sought in legal notice over newborn deaths at Ad-din Hospital

A legal notice has been served seeking action against those responsible for the deaths and illnesses of several newborns at Ad-din Hospital in Dhaka’s Moghbazar, along with compensation for affected families.

The notice was sent by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan via email on Friday.

The health services secretary under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, the DGHS director for hospitals and clinics, and the director of Ad-din Medical College Hospital are named as respondents in the notice.

The move follows a recent incident where six newborns died in the span of several hours at a maternity and neonatal ward of the hospital.

According to the notice, the recent illnesses and deaths of multiple infants in the ward have sparked “deep concern, grief, and public outrage” across the country.

Citing media reports and accounts from parents, it points out that several newborn babies suddenly fell seriously ill together around the same time.

They exhibited incessant crying, vomiting, respiratory distress, and a rapid deterioration of their physical condition.

Parents alleged that despite such a critical situation, the hospital failed to ensure adequate emergency medical care, round-the-clock monitoring, and immediate medical assistance.

The notice also claims that there was a “severe delay” in transferring the critically ill newborns to advanced medical facilities or appropriate treatment centres.

It contends that the incident brings to light “severe vulnerabilities in patient safety, emergency response systems, patient monitoring, and overall healthcare management within the maternity and neonatal wards of the country's hospitals”.

Against this backdrop, the legal notice outlines several specific demands.

It calls for the immediate identification of those responsible for the newborn deaths at Ad-din Hospital and demands departmental and criminal action against them.

Alongside punitive measures, it urges the provision of adequate and effective compensation to the families of the affected newborns.

The notice presses for the formulation and implementation of guidelines, protocols, and effective measures to guarantee emergency medical response, patient safety, and round-the-clock observation in the maternity and neonatal wards of all public and private hospitals across Bangladesh.

It also proposes the formation of a supervisory committee to regularly monitor and evaluate the security, emergency medical response systems, quality of service, and overall healthcare operations at every hospital.

The respondents have been asked to publicly inform the people of the steps taken within 72 hours of receiving the notice.

Failing that, appropriate legal action will be taken in a court in the public interest, the notice warns.