The High Court on Wednesday asked the LabAid Cardiac Hospital's chairman, director and chief consultant to appear before it on August 23 to explain the treatment given to Professor Mridul Kanti Chakrobarty of Dhaka University's music department, who died in the hospital on August 15.
The bench of Justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury and Justice Gobinda Chandra Tagore also asked the chairman of Ibn Sina Hospital Ltd, all the members of its trustee board and two doctors to appear before it on August 23 to explain the inexplicable death of three newborn babies in the hospital.
The court passed the orders in response to separate appeals.
The court summoned LabAid authorities and doctors after hearing a public interest litigation writ petition filed by the Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, stating that Mridul Kanti Chakrobarty was completely dehydrated when he was rushed to the hospital, but he died there because he was not given the immediate treatment that was essential.
The court also asked the authorities to explain within three weeks why all work in the hospital would not be suspended.
The hospital's authorities were also asked to explain why the doctor who attended Mridul Kanti should not be prosecuted for his reported negligence in providing treatment to him.
They will also need to explain why the hospital would not be directed to compensate the family of the deceased.
The court issued the rule suo moto against authorities of the Ibn Sina Hospital Ltd after taking cognizance of a report broadcast by private television channel Boishakhi on August 15, in which it was revealed that three newborn babies had died of negligence by the hospital authorities on different days.
The report said the authorities confined the bodies of the three newborn babies for three days after their death.
They did even not allow the parents to see the bodies, the report added.
The High Court also directed the hospital authorities to submit all the documents, papers and machine readable bills for the delivery and death of the babies to it on August 23.
The court also issued a rule suo moto asking the hospital authorities why they should not be punished for their reported negligence in preserving the lives of the babies.
Source : New Age
