Mumbai forensic surgeons upset with rural hospitals’ ‘excuses’

The nonavailability of forensic experts cited as an excuse by public health centres and rural hospitals located outside Mumbai for not performing autopsies and asking Grant Medical College and JJ Hospital to do them has irked forensic surgeons at these institutionsForensic surgeons claimed that the cases referred to them are not complicated or sensitive in nature and that the autopsies could have been done at referral hospitals In one case the body was referred citing decomposition This according to forensic experts and citizen forums is against the government resolution of 2013 and also in violation of the national human rights advisory According to sources ldquoSince the beginning of the year more than 70 claimed and unclaimed bodies were referred to the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Grant Medical College and JJ Group of hospitals for autopsy from primary health centres rural hospitals civil hospitals in Thane Ulhasnagar Badlapur Alibag etcrdquoOn three consecutive days October 6 October 7 two bodies from Central Hospital Ulhasnagar and October 8 case of a 21yearold woman from Rural hospital Badlapur bodies were referred to the JJ Group of hospitalsAlso Read MahaRERA rules consider continuity of MOFA ExpertsldquoAll the doctors in the primary health centres rural hospitals and even civil hospitals have studied forensic medicine and toxicology as part of their MBBS curriculum Moreover the hospital administration manual clearly mandates that every medical officer in these set ups must compulsorily undergo three months training of medico legal autopsies so that they can independently handle cases or accompany a body to the nearest bigger centre or medical college where an autopsy can be performed But this is seldom adhered tordquo pointed out a forensic surgeonldquoA primary health centre has one or two medical officers while a rural hospital has three to four and a class one medical superintendent A civil hospital has 30 medical officers and various class one specialised surgeons other than the Resident Medical Officers and the civil surgeon But still cases are being referred for months to JJ This is unfairrdquo said the surgeonMoney problemsThe process of transporting the body costs good money which has to be paid by the kin of the deceased and in case of an unidentified body the police have to arrange for transportationldquoThe doctors conducting the autopsy are to be present during the trial at courts outside Mumbai and for recording evidence under Section 45 expert opinion of the Indian Evidence Actrdquo another expert pointedSatyajit Burman founder of Ambernath Citizen Forum ACF said ldquoWe have been receiving numerous complaints from patientsrsquo relatives about the highhanded attitude of doctors at Central Hospital Ulhasnagar ACF has made numerous complaints to the health authorities but our plea has fallen on deaf earsrdquoWork for copsSenior Inspector Rajendra Kote of Ambernath police station said ldquoIn two of the cases registered with us in September and October the bodies were three to four days old and showed signs of decomposition As Central Hospital Ulhasnagar is the main hospital for medico legal cases the bodies were sent there for autopsy but doctors said they do not have forensic experts and referred the cases to JJ hospitalrdquoIndrajit Khandekar professor of Forensic Medicine MGIMS Sevagram said ldquoIf for some documented justifiable reasons a doctor feels that postmortem is required under the observation of forensic experts then the body should be transported to a nearby expert centre and unnecessary transfer to the farthest centre should be avoidedrdquoldquoWhy should bodies from outside Mumbai be sent to JJ Hospital The fact is that neither the police nor their superiors have gone through the 2013 government resolution which clearly states that only in sensitive cases wherein a law and order problem needs to be avoided the body can be referred to a bigger centre or to a medical college or else autopsy can be done in the primary health centres or rural hospital or civil hospitalrdquo said Dr SM Patil retired police surgeon and medico legal advisor to the state of Maharashtra Attempts to contact Commissioner public health Tukaram Mundhe did not yield resultWhat the 2013 GR statesgtgt No body should be referred to the district hospitalgovernment medical college hospital if the reason is decomposition In such cases the on duty doctor should consult a senior and conduct the postmortem If at all any such cases have to be referred for some highly important technical reason it should be done only with the permission of civil surgeonmedical superintendent along with authorised requisition of investigating policegtgt In decomposed and partlyfully skeletonized bodies preliminary basic postmortem should be done at the same centre and required samples preserved there only After this the body skeleton bones should be sent to the professor and head of Anatomy Department of the nearest Government Medical College Hospital with requisition of police