Barishal medical college sued over recovery of 31 foetuses

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Barishal Correspondent
Published : 20:25, Feb 19, 2019 | Updated : 21:12, Feb 19, 2019

Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College HospitalA Barishal City Corporation employee has sued a hospital over the recovery of the bodies of 31 infants that were preserved in the hospital for medical purposes and wrongfully disposed off.
A committee was also formed on Tuesday (Feb 19) to probe the incident at Barishal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.
A three-member committee headed by the hospital’s chief of surgery Dr Jahurul Hoque Manik was asked to submit the probe report within three working days.
In addition to that, the suspension of Gynaecology chief Dr Khurshid Jahan and nursing in charge of the ward Josna Akhter was also recommended.
However, Dr Jahan claims that she had no knowledge of the incident.
On Monday (Feb 18), conservancy workers of Barisal City Corporation found the bodies in the drain behind the hospital building, which the hospital authorities said “were preserved for research purposes”.
“Following the recovery, City Corporation cleaner Mirazul Islam filed the case with Sadar police on Monday night,” OC Nurul Islam told Bangla Tribune.
The remains have been sent for autopsy and a case of unnatural death was filed against the hospital.
He added that legal action will be taken based on the autopsy report.
“The dead bodies of premature babies are preserved at the Gynaecology Laboratory. They are supposed to be buried when they are no longer useful,” said the hospital Director Bakir Hossain.
He added that a fourth-grade employee of the hospital threw the bodies in the dustbin at the directive of Dr Jahan.
“An emergency meeting has been called to form a committee and recommendations to suspend two people have been made,” he said.
According to hospital sources, the dead bodies of the infants at several stages of prematurity have been preserved in glass jars for the last 15-20 years.
Authorities decided to dispose of them when medicine expired. However, the ward boys left them at the hospital’s backyard.
Later, street urchins threw the bodies in the drain and left with the containers. The bodies were later found by City Corporation cleaners and the hospital workers buried them after being notified.

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