The High Court yesterday directed the government to suspend the retirement facilities of National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH)’s former director Prof Dr Md Moarraf Hossen for negligence in preserving and protecting the hospital’s equipment, including those of the ICU.

Last Saturday, Md Moarraf Hossen went into leave preparatory retirement.

Issuing a suo moto (voluntary) rule, the HC yesterday ordered the health secretary and the director general of Directorate of Health Services to form a committee and conduct an enquiry into the allegations of negligence of NICRH authorities in using and preserving the equipment for treatment in the hospital.

The committee has been asked to submit a probe report before the court in 30 days.

In the rule, the court asked the authorities concerned of the government to explain why the reported negligence of the NICRH authorities should not be declared illegal.

The HC bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman passed the order and issued the suo moto rule following a report titled “ICU on sickbed” published yesterday in The Daily Star.

The retirement facilities of Moarraf Hossen will remain suspended until the HC disposes of the suo moto rule, Deputy Attorney General Amit Talukder told The Daily Star. 

SC lawyer Barrister Manoj Kumar Bhowmick placed The Daily Star’s report before the HC bench seeking necessary orders.

The report revealed several cases of irregularities at the country’s lone specialised public hospital for cancer treatment. 

The report said the NICRH, situated in Mohakhali, is the go-to place for patients in the low-income bracket. According to an International Agency for Research on Cancer report released last year, about 1.08 lakh people die of cancer, while 1.5 lakh people develop the disease every year in Bangladesh.

More than 12 years ago, the NICRH authorities had purchased eight high-end ventilators for its Intensive Care Unit. But the Artificial Respiratory Ventilators (ARVs), the basic device required to properly run an ICU, had never been installed, depriving the critical patients of the services they are supposed to receive at the ICU.

The lifesaving devices -- each bought for Tk 70 lakh at that time -- are now left uncared for in a corner in the ICU.

According to The Daily Star’s report, a central oxygen system was set up more than three years ago, but the ventilators were not installed. To make matters worse, the motherboards of the ventilators have been stolen in the meantime, rendering the machines dysfunctional.