he government has decided to allow post-mortems to be conducted round-the-clock at six Government Medical College Hospitals and at the Kasaragod General Hospital.
At a meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and attended by Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar, here on Wednesday, it was decided that night-time post-mortems may be conducted at Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Thrissur and Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospitals, the new Medical College at Ernakulam and at the Kasaragod General Hospital.
Infrastructure would be upgraded in each of these institutions, especially the electrical lighting arrangements and mortuary facilities, and more forensic medicine specialists and other support staff appointed, for round-the-clock post-mortem examination.
The Kerala Medico-Legal Code has already been amended so that post-mortem examinations may be conducted during night-time also, provided there are adequate lighting arrangements.
It was decided at the meeting that the jurisdiction of each institution where night-time post-mortems are to be conducted be fixed so that the new provision is not misused.
The District Medical Officer, Kasaragod, and the Director of Medical Education have been asked to submit detailed proposals regarding the additional facilities that would have to be made in each of the institutions chosen for the conduct of night-time post-mortems
The proposal to allow post-mortem examinations to be conducted at all times of the day had initially been put forth in order to facilitate the Government’s Deceased Donor Organ Transplantation programme, so that the procedures from the time of brain death declaration through organ harvesting and post-mortem may be expedited and the body of the brain dead donor be released without delay.
It was later suggested that the night-time post-mortems be restricted to only cases wherein organ donation takes place, as there is a serious lack of forensic medicine experts and facilities in all Medical Colleges as well as in Health Service.
However, the government seems to have decided to go all out and allow night-time post-mortems in all medico-legal cases, that too in all government medical colleges, district and general hospitals.