The High Court on Sunday directed the Director General of Health Services to immediately ensure medical treatment for a two-year-old child, whose genitals were severely damaged during a circumcision procedure, leaving a hole in the affected area.
The bench of Justice Fahmida Quader and Justice Mubina Asaf issued the order after hearing a writ petition filed by the child’s mother, Kulsum Begum, the wife of a day labourer, who has been living on the Tejkunipara playground at Tejgaon in Dhaka.
The court also asked the director general, Dhaka Shishu Hospital’s Resident Medical Officer Mizanur Rahman, and Padma Hospital’s managing director to explain in four weeks why they should not be ordered to pay Tk 1 crore in compensation for the child’s injuries.
Additionally, the court directed the director general to submit, within two weeks, its investigation report in the case.
The DMCH conducted an investigation into allegations of medical negligence against Dr Mizanur Rahman, who performed the circumcision at Padma Hospital’s Kalabagan branch on March 15, 2023, according to a document of the writ petition.
According to the complaint filed with the office of Health Services’ Director General on January 23, Kulsum Begum said that she took her son to Dr Mizanur Rahman’s private chamber after he warned that delaying the circumcision could cause urinary complications.
On his advice, she took the child to Padma Hospital, where Dr Mizanur performed the procedure.
After returning home, she discovered a hole beneath the child’s genitals.
When she contacted Dr Mizanur, he inserted a tube into the affected area and kept it in place for 26 days.
On a subsequent visit, he repeated the procedure for another 17 days.
Despite multiple hospital visits, including a visit to Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, the child was eventually referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and later to Dhaka Shishu Hospital.
While the DMCH attempted to close the hole, other hospitals reportedly refused to provide further treatment.
Lawyers Tanvir Ahmed and Biplob Poddar who represented the poor mother on a pro bono basis alleged that the child’s case highlighted concerns over medical negligence and lack of accountability in private healthcare facilities.