Health Minister Sardar Md Sakhawat Husain today said the director of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital “should be hanged” following the deaths of 33 babies within 11 days due to absence of a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) there.

“Thirty-three babies died within 11 days in Rajshahi. The director of the hospital did not inform us that it does not have a neonatal ICU. He should be hanged from the gallows,” the health minister said while speaking at a programme of The Society of Surgeons of Bangladesh at Shahid Abu Sayed International Convention Centre today.

A report published by Prothom Alo on March 26 said 33 infants died at RMCH over 11 days while awaiting ICU support.

The minister said that when contacted, the hospital director initially described the media report as exaggerated.

“When I called him, he said the media report was exaggerated. I then asked him to submit a report on the actual situation. Yesterday, he provided it but could not deny the media report,” he said.

Sakhawat added that arranging ventilators through government funding on short notice is difficult, prompting him to manage three ventilators privately for the hospital.

He said three more ventilators would be procured today, adding that the health secretary and the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services would visit Rajshahi to deliver them.