173 patients leave Ad-din hospital after licence cancellation; 243 still under treatment
Hospital authorities say they are taking maximum precautions to ensure uninterrupted treatment without putting patients at risk
A total of 173 patients left Ad-din Hospital today (12 June) after authorities revoked its licence following the deaths of six newborns, while 243 patients remained admitted as hospital authorities continued treatment.
Tarikul Islam Mukul, director (company affairs) of the Ad-din Foundation, told TBS 426 patients were admitted when the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) announced the licence cancellation on Thursday afternoon.
By 2:30pm today, 173 patients had left the hospital. Those still receiving treatment include 50 patients in the NICU, 13 in the ICU and six in the CCU.
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Hospital authorities said they were taking maximum precautions to ensure uninterrupted treatment without putting patients at risk. At a press conference today, Tarikul said they hoped the government would allow the hospital to resume normal operations in the public interest while complying with DGHS directives.
He said the post-operative ward linked to the deaths of six newborns had already been closed and the hospital had committed to completing necessary renovation work there within three months.
"The hospital is exercising utmost caution while implementing government instructions regarding the transfer of patients, with particular emphasis on ensuring that no patient is deprived of medical care," he said.
Responding to a question about why patients were not being referred to other hospitals, Tarikul said the government had noted that Ad-din operates several other hospitals where patients could seek treatment. However, the government had not instructed the hospital to stop treating existing patients. As a result, care for currently admitted patients is continuing.
He said critically ill patients, particularly newborns in the NICU, could not simply be discharged. "Since no other Ad-din hospital has a similar specialised unit, transferring those patients is not possible."
Asked about admitting new patients, he said admissions had been suspended since Thursday in accordance with DGHS instructions. At present, the hospital is only providing treatment to patients who were already admitted.
On the morning of 27 May, the day before Eid, six newborns died in the hospital's post-delivery ward. A probe committee formed by the health ministry later reported evidence of negligence by hospital authorities.
The licence cancellation followed an investigation into the deaths of six newborns in the hospital's post-delivery ward on 27 May, the day before Eid. A health ministry probe committee found evidence of negligence, citing overcrowding, prolonged air-conditioning failure, lack of alternative ventilation and high carbon dioxide levels as possible causes.
DGHS cancelled the hospital's licence on Thursday after finding its explanation unsatisfactory. Director General of Health Services Dr Prabhat Chandra Biswas said the hospital could no longer provide medical services after the cancellation and patients should be transferred as quickly as possible.
However, Ad-din has the option to appeal. Tarikul said the hospital respected the DGHS decision and planned to file an appeal by Sunday
