The tragic death of 11 children at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) due to a shortage of ICU ventilators has sparked nationwide concern and widespread outrage. Following the incident, the Ministry of Health indicated that strict action would be taken against the hospital director. However, the tragedy has raised a deeper and more critical question: is the responsibility limited to one individual, or does it reflect a broader failure in governance, monitoring, and healthcare management?
Under the โDigital Bangladeshโ initiative, a comprehensive online reporting and monitoring system was introduced in the health sector to improve transparency and accountability. Government hospitals and community clinics were required to regularly report data, including the operational status of critical medical equipment such as ventilators. Based on these reports, hospitals were evaluated, ranked, and in some cases recognized for performance.
According to the latest available data from July 2025, RMCH was ranked among the top medical college hospitals in the country, with all 20 ventilators reported as fully functional. However, the recent deaths caused by an apparent lack of ventilator support have raised serious concerns about the accuracy of these reports and the effectiveness of the monitoring system in practice.
Despite the existence of multiple monitoring mechanismsโincluding the DHIS2 online reporting system, hospital management committee meetings, civil surgeon inspections, logistics management systems, and patient feedback channelsโquestions remain about how effectively these systems are being implemented and supervised. Reports suggest that the last hospital management committee meeting at RMCH was held in August 2025, during which ventilator shortages were not discussed, and no subsequent corrective updates have been recorded.
The issue of accountability has now come under intense scrutiny. As the chair of the hospital management committee, the local Member of Parliament holds a certain level of responsibility, alongside officials from the Ministry of Health and field-level monitoring authorities. This has prompted key questions: Were the existing problems already known? Were they properly documented and reviewed? And if so, why were timely corrective measures not taken?
Health experts caution that placing blame solely on the hospital director risks oversimplifying a complex systemic issue. Instead, they emphasize the need for a comprehensive investigation into structural weaknesses and the establishment of a stronger accountability framework across all levels of the healthcare system.
This heartbreaking incident has raised several urgent questions: Are existing systems being used effectively? Are reported data being properly verified? And why are known problems not being addressed in time?
Analysts conclude that a technology-driven healthcare system can only be effective when it is properly implemented, actively monitored, and transparently managed. Without this, preventable tragedies like this are likely to continue, further eroding public trust in the healthcare system.
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