A PROBE committee of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) termed the occurrence happened to a family to wait for two years to get an autopsy report is a violation of human rights. This issue is related to the case where both kidneys of a 55-year-old woman were removed allegedly during surgery by doctors of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital (BSMMU). The victim Rawshan Ara’s body was sent in Dhaka Medical College Hospital on 3 November 2018 for autopsy and the autopsy report was sent to Shahbagh Police Station on 7 November this year.
The victim’s family members had visited the DMCH forensic department and police station several times, but they gave various excuses over the years. The Forensic Department said there was no requisition from police and in some time they excuse for workforce shortage for delaying the autopsy report. Later it is found that the autopsy report stated both kidneys were surgically removed.
The victim’s son Rafique said they admitted his ailing mother to BSMMU for kidney treatment on 1 July, 2018. Rawshan had an operation on her left kidney on 5 September that year, but her condition worsened fast. Following later diagnosis at two private hospitals, doctors found that both of Rawshan’s kidneys were missing. She died on 31 October, 2018. It took two years to get the report. On 27 November, Rafique filed a murder case against four BSMMU doctors on charges of removing her mother’s right kidney in a planned manner with ill intention.
The physicians of BSMMU pose huge social, political and economic power, but we know the laws are above all and equal to all. The NHRC’s involvement in this case hopefully pushes the victim’s family to get justice and warn unruly physicians to practice professional ethics. We ask the BSMMU authorities to be more ethical in their healthcare service run by taxpayers’ hard earn. We wish Rawsan’s family will get justice and our physicians should be more benevolent to the patients thinking that everybody must respect laws.
The victim’s family members had visited the DMCH forensic department and police station several times, but they gave various excuses over the years. The Forensic Department said there was no requisition from police and in some time they excuse for workforce shortage for delaying the autopsy report. Later it is found that the autopsy report stated both kidneys were surgically removed.
The victim’s son Rafique said they admitted his ailing mother to BSMMU for kidney treatment on 1 July, 2018. Rawshan had an operation on her left kidney on 5 September that year, but her condition worsened fast. Following later diagnosis at two private hospitals, doctors found that both of Rawshan’s kidneys were missing. She died on 31 October, 2018. It took two years to get the report. On 27 November, Rafique filed a murder case against four BSMMU doctors on charges of removing her mother’s right kidney in a planned manner with ill intention.
The physicians of BSMMU pose huge social, political and economic power, but we know the laws are above all and equal to all. The NHRC’s involvement in this case hopefully pushes the victim’s family to get justice and warn unruly physicians to practice professional ethics. We ask the BSMMU authorities to be more ethical in their healthcare service run by taxpayers’ hard earn. We wish Rawsan’s family will get justice and our physicians should be more benevolent to the patients thinking that everybody must respect laws.
