April 6: Unclaimed dead bodies that are piling at the Osmania Government Hospital mortuary due to delay in disposal orders from the police are posing serious threats to the health of the patients and locals. More than 100 unclaimed bodies have been lying in the morgue for months waiting for disposal and people passing by have to cover their noses due to the foul smell from the morgue.
Almost 1,500 out-patients and in-patients visit the hospital daily and around 70 people work at the morgue. The dead bodies pose serious infection threats for these patients and workers. Unclaimed bodies at the morgue are disposed by a government-authorised voluntary organisation named Satya Harishchandra Foundation in coordination with the GHMC. But for many months now, the organisation has not been asked to pick up any bodies. “The GHMC says that it hasn’t received any disposal orders from the police stations. In January there was an entry of 226 unclaimed dead bodies into the mortuary of which we could dispose only 96 bodies,” said Mr K. Rajesh Rao, general secretary of the foundation.
The chief medical officer, Hyderabad, Mr K. Deva Raj, said, “Unclaimed bodies remain in the mortuary even after post mortem. The police station from which the body comes refuses to take it back and the Afazalgunj PS, under which the hospital falls, also states the same. “But we are going to give a representation to the police commissioner for setting up a common circle for taking care of the disposal of these dead bodies,” he added.
As per rules, once a dead body is shifted to the mortuary, it has to be disposed within three days and if it is the dead body of a HIV or TB patient, it has to be disposed within 12 hour
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