Forensic medicine doctors in Telangana have started to dissect the list of requirements to conduct post-mortems after sunset. Issues being discussed are about the mortuaries which need renovations, number of autopsies that can be conducted in a day, pros and cons of conducting the procedure after sunset and others.
Improved conditions
Sources said that the discussions have gained momentum after Union Ministry of Health allowed the Post-Mortem Examinations (PME) to be conducted after sunset, effective from Monday. They hoped this could lead to better mortuaries and working conditions at major government hospitals.
“The primary aspect mentioned by most of the doctors is the current State of mortuaries at Osmania General Hospital and Gandhi Hospital. Need for additional human and infrastructure resources: technical staff, lights, generator to ensure there is no power outage during autopsy, and other topics are being talked about,” said sources.
Apart from the two major hospitals in Telangana, the autopsies are conducted at some of the District Hospitals, Area Hospitals, and Community Health Centres (CHC). The Union Health Ministry stated that fitness and adequacy of infrastructure etc., shall be assessed by the hospital in-charge to ensure that there is no dilution of evidentiary value. Besides, it should be ensured that at the facility all post-mortems conducted in the night are video recorded, to rule out any suspicion and preserved for future reference for legal purposes.
Currently, the PMEs are conducted till 5 p.m. at the tertiary care hospitals. If need be, they are extended till 6 p.m.
Power supply
“If the autopsies have to be conducted late in the evenings and in the nights, we need to ensure there is constant supply of power, which means a generator has to be provided. More number of technical teams who do the incisions on dead bodies, stitch them up are required. It takes around an hour to conduct one autopsy. And we conduct around 15 PMEs in a day. The current staff cannot handle additional load,” sources in Osmania General Hospital said.
Police too have to be ready to travel in the night and submit inquest and other forms to initiate the procedure. Security becomes an important factor too. Accommodation might have to be provided for doctors, staff, and police.
“The mortuary at Osmania General Hospital needs to improve. Leakages, dilapidated false ceiling, additional freezer boxes, and overall look of the mortuary needs to improve. If anyone walks into the mortuary, they will understand why it needs to be renovated,” said sources, adding that requests and requirements at the mortuary were filed earlier too.
