The doctor-nurse left the patient on the operating table and fled

At a clinic, a woman who had just given birth by caesarean section left the woman with her newborn child on the operating table and everyone in the clinic, including doctors and nurses, fled. The incident took place in Narayanganj during a crackdown on illegal hospitals and clinics in different districts of Bangladesh.

After receiving word that the clinic might be raided by the authorities, they locked the main entrance outside with a few other patients inside and fled.

After receiving an emergency telephone call, Department of Health officials went to the clinic and rescued the woman and her newborn child and other patients with a lock.

Dhaka Civil Surgeon Abu Hossain Md. Moinul Ahsan took part in this dramatic rescue operation. He described what they saw when they received the news on a telephone call.

He said the incident took place at Padma General Hospital in Narayanganj. They received a call from an unknown number around 2pm on Friday. They were told that everyone had fled leaving the patient on the operating table at a clinic.

Dr. Ahsan said: “The woman’s operation was over an hour ago. I went and saw that she was still lying there. She needed post-operative care. But her cut was finished. But it was left like that. The patient has to be given post operative care for at least 24 hours. The pulse, pressure and oxygen are seen every now and then. It is necessary to check if the mother’s cut is good, if the baby urinates or not.”

Such incidents took place during a nationwide crackdown on illegal hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers in Bangladesh. Dr. Ahsan said that after receiving the news, he sent an ambulance, doctors and nurses from Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Upon arrival, everyone inside, including a few relatives, was found in a state of panic.

The rescued women and children were admitted to the Maternal and Child Health Institute in nearby Matuail. The mother and the newborn are both well. Other patients were rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital by ambulance.

The Dhaka Civil Surgeon added, “The hospital has not even applied for any kind of paperwork. They have pulled out a notice outside saying that the hospital is closed for renovation work. But they are still working inside. They fled when they were nearby.”

Dr. Ahsan says, “This is the first time in my long career that I have seen a patient leave but only leave a patient who has had an operation.”