Practitioners' licence cancellation becomes a timely demand

Health care is an inherently dangerous activity. The prescribed drugs can be poisonous, surgery can go wrong or any healthcare activities can have harmful consequences. What should the practitioners do when someone comes to harm as a result of something they have, or have not, done? The common answer is: They must be extra careful and manage the entire procedure skillfully with devotion and attention.

However, negligence in performing duties has become a regular phenomenon in Bangladesh. Several deaths due to wrong healthcare management have made the authorities thinking about special measures.

The beginning of the year marred with the death of a five years old Ayaan Ahmed who reportedly died on January 7 midnight following a minor circumcision surgery.

His bereaved father Shamim Ahmed claimed that Ayaan fell prey to ‘wrong treatment’ due to negligence from the physicians of the United Medical College Hospital, a hospital that is operating in the capital without applying for registering it.

Contacted, with his upper surprise Shamim said that it is out of imagination that a hospital, a venture of such a large business group – ‘United Group’ can be operated without any legal documents.

He demanded cancellation of the license of the United Hospital where Ayaan died and also cancellation of the medical practice licenses of the physicians –United Medical College Hospital's anaesthesiologist Syed Sabbir Ahmed and surgeon Tasnuva Mahjabin.

On January 9, Ayaan's father Md Shamim Ahmed filed a case against United Hospital and United Medical College Hospital, its two doctors, unnamed directors, employees and staff over the death of the five-year-old.

Aggrieved Nurun Nahar, wife of Zakir Hossain who died reportedly from a wrong treatment last year, lodged complaints at the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) against Dr Rashedul, Dr Shekhar and Dr Azam on April 18.

Zakir’s wife and family members have made several allegations against Dr Rashedul, Dr Shekhar and Dr Azam about errors in diagnosis, wrong treatment and malpractice. For instance, Dr Shekhar and Dr Azam performed the emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on Zakir but after his death, Zakir’s family consulted with several cardiologists and learned that it should have been performed within 12 hours after the ailment’s onset. But the operation took place around 13 hours later.

They noticed several irregularities during the postoperative period as well that contributed much to Zakir’s death.

Nahar said: “Zakir didn’t leave behind any significant assets or money for us. Still in our bad days we are fighting against malpractice, irregularities. The reason is very simple: we don't want any wife, any child or any father to lose his beloved one from wrong treatment. They don’t understand, when treatment goes wrong only because of their unfair behaviour and negligence, that can cause destruction of a family, their dreams.”

Our correspondents from Cumilla, Brahmnbaria, Pirozpur and Rangpur talking to some other relatives of the dead patients said that as the patients continue to lose their lives due to ‘wrong treatment’ across the country it is contributing highly in shattering people’s confidence in physicians.

The victims family said that in some incidents manifested that the doctors really neglected treatment.

But they are in a state that although many of them are running after the authorities concerned seeking punishment for the accused, physicians are hardly getting punished in the absence of a specific strong law.

Media reports and Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) showed that the number of such incidents are not very few, including many such incidents taking place even in the capital as well.

In one such tragic incident in June, a mother named Mahbuba Rahman Ankhi and her newborn died at Central Hospital in Dhanmondi of the capital. Some other incidents, including the deaths of one Purobi Ghosh at Ibn Sina Hospital and twin neonates at Human Clinic and Diagnostic Centre at Debiganj in Panchagarh were very pathetic.

BMDC said that about 200 complaints over patients’ deaths due to wrong treatment and negligence were lodged with it in the last five years. The registration of two doctors was cancelled and some 12 were temporarily suspended following the complaints.

A probe body of Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC) dug out the facts and suspended the registration of the physician on June 22 for six months, said Registrar (Acting) of the BMDC Dr Liaquat Hossain.

However, the family members of some victims are strongly against the punishment terming it as soft punishment and think a strong specific law, its implementation can save patients from deaths due to the wrong treatment of the doctors and nurses.

Dr Abu Hussain Md Moinul Ahsan, director (Hospital and Clinics) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said that they are doing whatever comes under their jurisdiction.

For instance, although it was not the duty of the hospital unit of the DGHS to visit the place of incidence. But the unit did so only because to ensure justice to the family and to provide assurance to others that the authorities are doing their best to ensure best health services.

The hospital authorities do not apply for registration and also, they are operating a OT at the ground floor that is strictly prohibited. Again, facilitating students to learn first hand during a surgery is okay. But the main focus would be on the treatment of the patient without any sort of disturbance in the treatment, he expressed his observation.

He said that there is no doubt that DGHS and the BMDC are taking actions against doctors and hospitals after probe into wrong treatment and negligence as per their jurisdictive power authorised by the laws concerned. “The hospital has been shut down and further action will be taken upon receiving the probe report,” he added.

Public health expert and Chairman of the Bangladesh Health Rights Movement Rashid-e-Mahbub said that in such cases bereaved members of the victim’s family merely know about how they can progress legally and so, ended up in filing a murder case with the police station.

"The truth is, this is a very technical matter and a lot to investigate into it. No physician wants to make mistake during rendering their services. Such allegation even can make their morale down and affect them psychologically," he added.

But wrong treatment, whatever the reason is behind it, needed to be identified and the physician in service should be punished in accordance with their mistakes, he said.

"However, demanding cancellation of the practitioner’s licenses could not be the only way. A solution should be there so that these physicians can improve themselves and also other can learn from it for not to repeat the mistakes," he opined.