Dhaka Shishu Hospital cancels appointments of 65 doctors

The Bangladesh Shishu Hospital and Institute has cancelled the appointments of 65 doctors who were recruited on an ad hoc basis due to procedural irregularities. The hospital’s director, Professor Dr. Mahbubul Alam, confirmed the decision to the media on Sunday afternoon.

Dr. Alam stated that fresh recruitment will be conducted according to proper rules and procedures through a public advertisement. “The board of directors discussed the issue in their meeting yesterday and decided to cancel the previous appointments. Following a new advertisement, 42 doctors will be appointed permanently after completing all formalities,” he said.

Sources within the hospital revealed that on June 29, the then director, Professor Md. Mahbubul Haque, prepared a list of 65 doctors for ad hoc appointments, which was approved by the hospital’s board chairman, Professor A K M Azizul Haque.

However, the appointments were made without publishing any newspaper advertisement. Only a single notice was posted on June 1 on the hospital’s notice board inviting applications from Bangladeshi citizens under 35 years old for 42 posts in five pediatric specialties — Pediatric Medicine, Pediatric Surgery, Pediatric Anesthesia, ENT, and Maxillofacial Surgery — under the national pay scale’s ninth grade. The notice also stated that doctors currently undergoing training or study at the hospital would be given preference and could have relaxed age limits.

On July 2, the Ministry of Health sought clarification from the hospital director regarding the adherence to proper recruitment procedures for the ad hoc appointments. In response on July 7, the director maintained that the appointments were made following board decisions and the hospital’s recruitment policies.

Following this, on July 10, the Ministry of Health established a three-member investigation committee to probe the matter.