Boy, 11, Dies After Operation in Savar; Hospital Vandalised as Doctors and Nurses Flee

An 11-year-old boy named Abraham has died while undergoing surgery for polyps and tonsils in Savar, Dhaka. The incident took place on Wednesday (21 October) afternoon at Abbas Specialized Hospital in Ulail, in the municipal area.

The child's relatives allege that the operation was carried out without the necessary health tests and that he died because of negligence by the doctors and hospital staff. Angered by the incident, relatives vandalised the hospital.

Abraham was the son of Abdul Alim, an expatriate in Dubai, from the Singair area of Manikganj.

After the incident, the accused physician, Dr Md Suman Hossain, along with the hospital's other doctors, nurses and officials, left the premises. As a result, none of them could be reached immediately for comment. The mobile phone of the hospital's owner, Dr Md Abbas Uddin, was also found switched off.

Abraham's mother, Kona Akter, said: 'My son had polyps in his nose and a tonsil problem. A few days ago I consulted Dr Md Suman Hossain at Abbas Specialized Hospital. The doctor advised an operation and asked for an ECG and an echo test. Yesterday, when I came to the hospital for the tests, the ECG could be done but the echo could not, as no doctor was available. When I told the doctor I would get the echo done outside, he said the ECG report was fine and the echo was not needed.'

Describing the day of the operation, Kona Akter said: 'Then, on Dr Suman's advice, my son's operation began today at 11:30am. About an hour and a half later, the hospital's doctors and nurses suddenly started running past the front of the operating theatre and called me to say my son had a problem and had to be taken quickly to the ICU. Around 2pm I took my son to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar. There the doctors said my son had already died.'

Alleging negligence in treatment, she said: 'They killed my son with wrong treatment. I want proper justice for this incident.'

Doctors at Enam Medical College Hospital confirmed the child's death after he was brought there. Dr Abdul Ahad, a medical officer in the hospital's ICU department, said: 'When the child was brought to us, he had no signs or symptoms of life. We examined him, confirmed his death and then informed the family.'

Meanwhile, a visit to Abbas Specialized Hospital after the incident found several patients admitted there but no doctors or nurses present. Patients under treatment have been left in difficulty as a result.

A security guard on duty in front of the hospital also confirmed the absence of doctors and nurses. The guard, who did not wish to be named, said: 'Since the incident, the hospital's doctors, nurses and staff have fled. The patients have also left. Only two or three patients are in the hospital.'

Contacted about the matter, Savar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr Md Fazle Bari said: 'I have learned that a child died in the operating theatre at Abbas Specialized Hospital. But no one has lodged a complaint with us over this incident. If a complaint is made, action will be taken.'

Sub-Inspector Fazr Ali of Savar Model Police Station said: 'While preparing the inquest report after the incident, we found no cuts on the child's body. But there were signs of blood coming from the nose and mouth. I have heard the child died after anaesthetic medicine was administered.' He added that agitated relatives of the patient vandalised the hospital after the incident.

The exact cause of the child's death, and whether all the necessary tests were carried out before the operation, are now matters for investigation. Attention will be on the next steps by the health authorities and law enforcement if the family files a formal complaint.