MUMBAI: Acting on an online campaign lodged by a city-based woman, the Maharashtra government has ordered the state-run St George Hospital in south Mumbai to upgrade its morgue and appoint additional staff to handle the work.
Renu Kapoor, a member of the Colaba Advanced Locality Management (ALM), a citizen's group, had uploaded a petition on a website in April this year to highlight the alleged poor condition of the hospital's morgue. The petition was addressed to chief minister and state health department.
When asked about why her petition mentioned only St George Hospital’s morgue, Ms Kapoor told The Asian Age, “I went there last year, when my driver passed away. Non-doctors performed the autopsy. The morgue was in a filthy condition; ten bodies lay stacked on top of each other in a dimly-lit tiny room with no windows and a leaky roof.” Following the petition, officials called her up and held a meeting with her.
Dr Madhukar Gaikwad, the Superintendent of St George hospital said, “The maintenance work is going on, we have already taken cognisance. Only qualified doctors perform autopsies.” He rebutted Ms Kapoor's claims by saying, “The morgue is cleaned and it's always the employees who assist doctors during post mortem. A doctor is always present there and he signs the autopsy report.” He said, “As this morgue has a paucity of space, we are considering construction of a new morgue. We have identified a spot in the campus and started the process for same."
The Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), head Dr Pravin Shingare said, “We have already started the reformation of morgue, and we have also issued an order to get qualified staff for this purpose.” The DMER has passed orders which states that the financial grant to start the repair and electrification of the morgue is started by the PWD.
