Anesthesia cannot be administered in chambers or diagnostic centers except in registered hospitals and clinics. Any type of surgery cannot be done without an expert anesthetist recognized by Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council (BMDC).
These issues were addressed in an office order issued by the Department of Health on Thursday following the deaths of three people, including two children, while administering anesthetic. Abu Hossain Moinul Ahsan, Director of Hospitals and Clinics Branch (Additional Duty), signed the office order.
On Tuesday (February 20), Ahnaf Tahmin Ayham, a Class IV student, died undergoing circumcision at the JS Diagnostic and Medical Checkup Center in Malibagh. On January 8, a five-year-old boy named Ayan died after being circumcised under full anesthesia at Satarkul United Medical College Hospital in Dhaka.
According to the order of the Department of Health, establishments listed as Diagnostics and Hospitals but holding only Diagnostics or Hospital licenses cannot provide the specified services under their name until they obtain the appropriate license.
Diagnostic centers and pathological laboratories can only carry out tests specified in the category of license obtained, the health department said.
The order further said that pathologists, microbiologists, biochemists, and radiologists should be recruited on a category basis.
Any operation/surgery/procedure in hospitals or clinics must be performed by a registered physician as an assistant surgeon, said the Department of Health.
