Legal Notice Sent Over Ad-Din Hospital Newborn Deaths

A formal legal notice has been served to the government and Ad-Din Hospital authorities demanding criminal prosecution, departmental action, and compensation for the families of six newborns who died under suspicious circumstances at the facility's Moghbazar branch on Wednesday.

The legal notice was dispatched via email on Friday by Supreme Court lawyer Ishrat Hasan.

It explicitly names four key respondents: the Secretary of the Health Services Division under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the DGHS Director for Hospitals and Clinics, and the Director of Ad-Din Medical College Hospital.

The legal notice highlights a highly alarming sequence of events. Citing direct accounts from grieving parents and media reports, the notice states that multiple newborns in the maternity and neonatal ward suddenly fell seriously ill at the same time, exhibiting persistent crying, vomiting, and severe respiratory distress. Some mothers also fell ill during the incident.

Parents alleged that despite the visible crisis, the hospital failed to provide round-the-clock observation, immediate medical assistance, or adequate emergency care. The notice further contends that there was a critical delay by the hospital staff in transferring the dying infants to advanced life-support centers.

"This tragic loss of newborn lives has caused deep shock, grief, and public outrage across the country," the notice reads. "It exposes severe, life-threatening vulnerabilities in patient safety, emergency response systems, and overall healthcare monitoring within the neonatal wards of our hospitals."

The legal notice gives the respondents a 72-hour window to publicly announce the steps taken to address the tragedy. If they fail to comply, the sender warns of public interest litigation in the High Court.

Beyond punitive measures against Ad-Din Hospital, the notice demands structural reforms across Bangladesh’s entire healthcare system, including formulation of mandatory emergency guidelines for all public and private maternity wards. The creation of independent supervisory committees to regularly audit the service quality, emergency medical systems, and patient safety protocols at every hospital in the country.

The legal notice coincides with findings from state regulators. Dr. Zahid Raihan, Additional Director General of the DGHS, confirmed to reporters that a high-level government investigation committee has detected severe negligence and infrastructural flaws in Ad-Din's post-operative ward—including a total lack of exhaust ventilation when air conditioning units are turned off.

The government's official probe report is scheduled for formal submission on Saturday. Meanwhile, the crisis has escalated into a criminal matter; a victim's family filed a formal case with the Ramna Police Station on Wednesday night, accusing the hospital management of causing death by negligence.