Thursday 7 November 2013

Naivasha hospital: Mortuary to bury unclaimed bodies in 21 days


Public health department in Naivasha has issued a 21-day notice to bury 35 unclaimed bodies lying at the Naivasha district hospital mortuary.

The department called on members of the public whose kin had been missing to check with the hospital before the bodies are disposed.

Issuing the notice, Naivasha district public health officer Mr Samuel King’ori noted that some of bodies were badly decomposed.

King’ori said that the bodies had exceeded the required 21 days in the mortuary and hence the move to dispose them.

“The hospital hereby issues a twenty one day notice for the bodies to be claimed failure to which they will be buried in a mass grave at the municipal cemetery,” reads the notice in part.

Among the bodies set for disposal are 12 minors below four years who had died in the hospital.

King’ori expressed his concern over the high number of relatives abandoning their kin in the hospital once they died.

“Majority of the minors died in the hospital wards and their relatives decided to abandon them and hence the crisis,” he noted.

The superintendent in charge of the hospital Dr Joseph Mburu confirmed the crisis in the mortuary.

He said that services in the facility whose capacity is twelve bodies were overstretched and hence the move to dispose the bodies.

Mburu however noted that one of the bodies had been identified, collected and buried by relatives.

“The hospital currently has over fifty bodies against a capacity of twelve and this is affecting our services,” he said.

The doctor noted with concern over certain communities that were abandoning their babies in the hospital wards whenever they passed on.

“We have come to realize that some communities do not bury their minors and have been abandoning them in the hospital,” he noted.

He said the bodies are taking their toll on the hospital's budget as the number increases by the day. Mburu said the mortuary capacity is 12 but they currently have about 50 bodies.

“We have issued a notice through the courts to bury the 26 unclaimed bodies, which have been in the mortuary for more than three months,” he said.

hospital superintendent Dr Joseph Mburu said majority of the unclaimed bodies were brought in by police who had collected them from accident scenes and other areas.

He said the hospital has the highest number of unclaimed bodies in Kenya. The doctor said there is an urgent need to open a council mortuary in the town to deal with the high number of unclaimed bodies.

He said that a council mortuary constructed by an investor in the 1990s needs to be refurbished as it had been vandalised.

He said the hospital has the highest number of unclaimed bodies in Kenya. The doctor said there is an urgent need to open a council mortuary in the town to deal with the high number of unclaimed bodies.

He said that a council mortuary constructed by an investor in the 1990s needs to be refurbished as it had been vandalised.

Thursday 07 November 2013

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-142709/naivasha-hospital-bury-unclaimed-dead

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000065434&story_title=Kenya:%20Mortuary%20to%20bury%20unclaimed%20bodies%20in%2021%20days

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Man who lived his life dedicated to ensuring a dignified burial for unclaimed bodies in Chennai dies in hospital


M.S. Sivakumar, who helped trace families of abandoned patients and helped orphans in hospital, died at Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) on Wednesday.

It can only be tragic irony that a man who lived his life dedicated to ensuring a dignified burial for unclaimed bodies, died all alone in a ward at a government hospital.

On Tuesday, the 56-year-old was found lying unconscious beside his two-wheeler on EVR Periyar Salai opposite Central Station near Buhari Hotel. He had sustained a head injury.

Some passers-by and police who recognised him, admitted him to GH. An MRI and CT scan revealed a severe head injury. On Tuesday night, he underwent surgery.

However, around 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, doctors declared him dead.

When the Thane cyclone struck in 2012 and six sailors went missing, Mr. Sivakumar was one of the few people who rushed to help the families in distress.

Mr. Sivakumar drove from one hospital to the other, offering his services. The helpful social worker, clad in white, would frequent government hospital mortuaries, police stations and the courts. He regularly petitioned the Madras High Court for dignified burials of unclaimed bodies.

Mr. Sivakumar had been honoured by GH several years ago for his services, at a function organised by the surgical gastroenterology department.

The hospital’s resident medical officer (RMO) Anand Pratap was among those who visited him soon after his admission.

“He would take possession of unclaimed bodies for burial and would ensure that orphans who come to the hospital for treatment were admitted to orphanages. He was of great help in tracing relatives of patients who were abandoned at the hospital,” Dr. Pratap said.

In September, Mr. Sivakumar helped trace the family of an Assamese man who was found unconscious in the yard of Egmore railway station. After the man died at the hospital, Mr. Sivakumar traced his family based on a photocopy of a bank passbook found on the man.

However, on Wednesday when he died, there was no one at Mr. Sivakumar’s side. “It was sad that he became an orphan himself today,” the RMO said.

Mr. Sivakumar is a native of Ayalur village in Palakkad and used to take up documentation work in the real estate sector, according to his friend P.T. Ali.

K. Narayanan, who had known Mr. Sivakumar for the past year said he was taking care of his ailing elder sister who lived in Ayanavaram. Mr. Ali said he later traced and informed Mr. Sivakumar's family, who live in Thrissur, Kerala.

Thursday 07 November 2013



http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/man-who-helped-families-in-need-dies-alone-in-chennai/article5322779.ece

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Zimbabwe: Four Chisumbanje inferno victims identified


Relatives of 17 unidentified victims that were badly burnt in the Chisumbanje ethanol tanker accident have managed to identify four of the bodies.

Acting Manicaland traffic co-ordinator, Chief Inspector Cyprian Mukahanana said the bodies were positively identified before experts did DNA profiling at Mutare Provincial Hospital.

He said tests have been carried out on the remaining 13 bodies.

Relatives who were taken blood samples for matching with the corpses said they will know the results in the next six weeks.

Police will reveal names of those identified soon.

Thursday 07 November 2013

http://allafrica.com/stories/201311070211.html

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