No evidence of negligence found in infant's death in Padma General Hospital: DGHS

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has found no initial evidence that the death of nine-month-old Ayan Abdullah in Dhaka's Padma General Hospital was caused by doctors' absence or medical negligence.

After inspecting the hospital today (14 September), DGHS Additional Director General Zahid Raihan told journalists that the child had several congenital abnormalities, including hypothyroidism, and underdeveloped genitalia that made it difficult to determine whether the child would develop as male or female.

"The baby was admitted in critical condition. Initially, we have not found any negligence on the part of the hospital," he said.

Zahid said the man who livestreamed the incident, which later went viral on social media, was a content creator, not a close relative of the child.

"Vandalising the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is a criminal offence. If the hospital authorities want, they can seek legal assistance in this regard," he said.

The child's family had alleged on Sunday night that medical negligence led to the death.

Later that night, a man identified as Asif Hasan went live on social media, expressing anger over the hospital's treatment and medical costs. He said his niece's son had been admitted on 1 September and that doctors initially told the family he would be discharged the following day. They were later informed that he needed life support, he alleged.

Asif claimed that the family eventually forced its way into the PICU and found the child dead. Despite calling out, they could not find any doctor there, he said.

According to Asif, doctors initially told the family that the child had low blood sugar and later informed them of various other health complications.

He also alleged that the hospital charged around Tk25,000 a day despite having insufficient doctors in its PICU and NICU.

Refuting the allegation, Zahid said two doctors, including consultant Dr Nazmul Haque, were at the hospital when the incident occurred. "When the commotion broke out, the doctors moved to another room for security reasons," he said.

However, the DGHS will form a committee to investigate the child's death, the hospital's infrastructure and allegations of excessive fees, Zahid said.

The committee will also assess whether the hospital's PICU and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) are operating according to prescribed standards, he added.

Dr Nazmul said the child was scheduled to receive a discharge certificate today but suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest. "At one stage, he stopped breathing," he said.

Hospital Administrative Officer Jahirul Islam Anik also denied negligence allegations, saying legal action would be taken if the investigation substantiates any wrongdoing.