MUMBAI, January 15: The morgue of the KEM Hospital has been closed for repairs since the past three months. Civic officials state that repair work will only begin in March. While relatives already have to wait for over six hours due to the present Coroners' Court system, the shutting of the morgue has extended the wait by another two hours.The morgue was shut for repairs after its ceiling collapsed in September last year. Since then, bodies are being kept in the cold room of the anatomy department in another part of the campus. Post mortems, though, are still conducted in a room adjoining the morgue, and bodies are carried by workers to the post mortem room, which is a good 15-20 minute walk. A doctor informs that this entire operation takes a good 45 minutes. ``Due to a staff shortage, workers sometimes wait for another body to arrive so that they can bring both bodies together. This could easily take another hour,'' he explains.
Besides, the anatomy cold room is located in the college building right
opposite the canteen. As witnessing such shifting of bodies is obviously unpleasant for relatives, hospital authorities have now issued strict instructions for bodies to be taken via a longer route through the hospital building.
The 15 by 20 feet cold room is actually meant for unclaimed and donated bodies used by medical students for dissection. In 1997, 5,040 deaths occurred at KEM and 1,858 post mortems were conducted. Between January 1 and 14, 1998, there were 185 deaths. And to add to the woes of the attendants, only three of the 15 trays which keep the bodies in the substitute morgue, function. The rest are jammed shut. The old morgue had 27 boxes to keep the bodies while about 50 bodies were stacked on the floor. According to a doctor in the department, a rat had once nibbled off the ear from a corpse before it was brought for a post mortem! Said an attendant, ``Bodies with gangrene start smelling. With the onset of summer in the next few months, bodies will rot and smell quickly.''
Dr Pradnya
Pai, dean of KEM hospital and G S Medical college said although tenders have been passed for the repair work, details would be available with the BMC city engineer. When contacted, Deputy City Engineer, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) stated that repair work would begin by the end of February. ``The mortuary building is a heritage structure. Though all formalities concerning tenders are over, we need clearance from the heritage committee. It will then be put before the standing committee,'' he stated.
V P Mehendale, Assistant Engineer, Municipal head office and heritage conservation informs that the KEM hospital and G S Medical college main buildings are among the 23 listed heritage sites under the BMC.
``According to our phase-wise restoration plan, these salient buildings will be repaired in the next budgetary year. We will check on the condition of the mortuary then. However, we have not been intimidated of the status of the mortuary at present,'' he said.
Thirty-eight-year-old Dilip Patil
(name changed) met with an accident at Vikhroli on December 31 and was operated at KEM. At 9.45 pm on January 13, he died. His relatives were told that due to the unavailablity of staff, the post mortem would only be conducted the next morning. For two hours after a death, a body is kept in the side room of the ward, says a doctor. ``Rigor mortis sets in after about 90 minutes after death. Only after the death is confirmed is the body sent to the morgue.'' Patil's colleagues came to the hospital at 6.30 am, and were told that the doctors would come at 9.30 am.
The mortuary attendant then called up the Coroners' Court at J J Hospital to seek permission to conduct a post mortem. Incidentally, the Coroners' Court has only one telephone connection, which could easily take an hour to access. After obtaining permission from the constable on duty, the mortuary attendant informed the concerned doctor at KEM. Patil's colleague reveals how he personally went to call the doctor in the college building.
The post
mortem was finally conducted at 1.30 pm. After that, Patil's relatives went to the Vikhroli police station to obtain a `No Objection Certificate'. (If the police official on duty is not present, this could take upto three hours). They then went to the Coroner's Court at J J Hospital, where they were issued a warrant certificate after questioning. Patil's body was finally handed over to his relatives at 7.30 p m on January 14.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
