Alleged medical negligence leads to old man’s death in Chuadanga

An 80-year-old man died at Chuadanga Sadar Hospital on Monday night, with his family blaming medical negligence for the incident.

The deceased, Abdul Momin Malita Panu, was a resident of Gopalpur village under Juronpur union in Damurhuda upazila. He had been undergoing treatment at the hospital for the past four days.

His son, Masud Al Mahmud Tushar, said Abdul Momin was still able to walk to the bathroom by himself on Monday evening. But, his condition suddenly deteriorated later that night, prompting the family to rush him to the emergency department.

Tushar alleged that despite repeated pleas, the on-duty physician, Dr Abdul Kader, did not respond immediately and instead sent an intern to attend the patient.

“It took nearly 20 minutes for Dr Kader to arrive. When he finally did, he declared my father dead at around 9:40 pm,” Tushar said, claiming his father might have survived with timely intervention.

The incident sparked a heated exchange between the patient’s attendants and hospital staff. As tensions escalated, Dr Kader sought police assistance to manage the situation.

According to the hospital’s emergency department, Abdul Momin had been admitted with breathing complications related to asthma and a prior stroke.

When contacted, Dr Abdul Kader defended his actions, saying, “The emergency department is often overwhelmed. I initially sent an intern to assess the condition and responded based on their findings. It’s not always possible to attend personally right away.”

He also alleged that the patient’s relatives verbally abused him and attempted to assault him, which led to his decision to call the police.

The body was sent to the family’s home in Gopalpur village around 11:00 pm.

Efforts to reach the hospital’s superintendent and residential medical officer for comment were unsuccessful, as calls went unanswered.