Storage requirement: ‘Govt hospitals need mortuary facilities’

There is not enough space to keep even 200 to 300 bodies in government hospitals' morgues

PHOTO: NEFER SEHGAL/EXPRESS/FILE

KARACHI:


The city needs cold storage (mortuary) facilities in government hospitals, said health experts on Saturday.


The need arose when the city braved thousands of deaths in the recent heatwave but there was no place available in government hospitals and Edhi Morgue to keep the unclaimed bodies for a couple of days till the completion of legal formalities.


Dr Seemin Jamali, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre's (JPMC) joint director and emergency department in-charge, said there are no mortuary facilities at public hospitals to store bodies especially in emergencies.

JPMC has facilities to only keep a few bodies but there is not enough space to keep a large number of bodies in emergencies like last week's heatwave. Currently, only Edhi Foundation has this facility, she added.

Dr Mirza Ali Azhar, Pakistan Medical Association's secretary general, said there is not enough space to keep even 200 to 300 bodies in government hospitals or private welfare organisations' morgues. 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2015.

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