Court orders CID probe into newborn’s death at Ctg hospital

A Chattogram court has ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to investigate a case filed over the death of a newborn following alleged medical negligence and improper treatment at a private hospital.

Chattogram Metropolitan Magistrate Md Alomgir Hossain passed the order today (22 June), directing the CID to submit a report within 15 working days through an officer not below the rank of inspector.

The court also directed the Chattogram Civil Surgeon's Office to form a three-member expert medical team and submit its opinion within 10 working days, confirmed the plaintiff's lawyer Advocate Shubhashish Sharma.

The order came after the child's mother, Amatul Maknun, a resident of the city's Cosmopolitan area under Bayezid police station, filed the case last Thursday over the death of her 10-day-old child.

The case names eight accused, including Shajinaz Hospital Limited Director Hasan Mahmud Chowdhury and seven doctors.

The doctors are Associate Consultant Anwar Hossain, Senior Consultant Faisal Ahmed, Paediatric Surgeon Adnan Walid, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon Md Minhazul Hasan, Paediatrician Habibur Rahman, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon Md Fazle Maruf, and Laparoscopic Surgeon Md Tamim Safayet Chowdhury Alvi.

Advocate Shubhashish Sharma said the case alleged that serious negligence and lack of professional care led to the newborn's death.

"The case alleged that incorrect information was later added to hospital records to present the incident differently," he said. 

According to the case statement, the baby was born by C-section at Surgiscope Hospital in Chattogram on 25 May. 

After birth, the infant developed breathing difficulties and pneumonia and was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Shajinaz Hospital around 10:40pm the same day, the mother said.

After several days of treatment, the child's condition improved, but complications later appeared in the left hand, according to the case statement.

On 30 May, family members noticed a bandage on the baby's left hand and asked doctors about it. They were told it was not a matter of concern, the case statement says.

The following day, the family allegedly found that the baby's left palm had turned black and two fingers had begun to rot.

The family alleged that the matter was not treated with urgency at the initial stage, allowing the infection to worsen and gradually develop into gangrene.

As the condition became critical, the baby was taken to Dhaka on 1 June. Before the transfer, a surgery was performed at Shajinaz Hospital, but the family alleged there were serious flaws in the procedure.

The case statement says the infection was not fully cleaned during the surgery and blood vessels were damaged, allowing the infection to spread further.

In Dhaka, doctors said the infection had spread extensively, according to the family. The affected hand was later amputated at a hospital in Dhaka in an attempt to save the child's life, but the baby died on 4 June.

Amatul Maknun said doctors in Dhaka told the family that medical negligence and improper management had caused the child's condition to deteriorate.

Shajinaz Hospital earlier denied the allegations, saying the infant had been admitted in critical condition from another hospital, with a swollen arm and a cannula already inserted.

Responding earlier, Dr Md Faruk Hossain, medical director (affairs) of Shajinaz Hospital, told The Business Standard that the infant's condition had been critical from the outset and that there had been no negligence in treatment.

The incident drew public attention after the mother wrote about the matter on Facebook and said she would take legal action against the hospital and the doctors involved.

Following the post, the Chattogram Civil Surgeon's Office formed a three-member investigation committee on 14 June and asked it to submit a report with recommendations within seven working days.