Hospital's headache over decomposing unidentified corpses

Sekondi, Nov. 15, GNA - Authorities of the Effia-Nkwanta Government Hospital at Sekondi have for the past month been battling with the problem of how to dispose of five corpses deposited at the Hospital's mortuary by some policemen on different occasions since June this year. As a result, the Hospital has decided that henceforth, it would not accept unidentified dead bodies brought to the morgue by the police. "If such bodies will be accepted at all, the Police Service will have to pay for the full cost of preservation to avert hazards", a letter dated November 6, 2006 and addressed to the Police and the Prisons services stated.

Mr Asare Bediako Micah, Head of Administration of the Hospital signed the letter, which also appealed to the Police to help to identify the officers who deposited the five bodies at the Hospital.

He told the Ghana News Agency during investigations that the corpses were deposited at the hospital to enable the police to conduct investigations into the causes of death.

The police have not responded to letters written to them to help to streamline procedures to dispose of the decomposing bodies.

"It is unfortunate that every effort to contact the policemen for necessary action has proved futile", one of the letters also signed by Mr Micah stated.

He complained that the bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition, thereby creating health hazards to both staff and patients at the Hospital.

"The situation at the Hospital as at now is unbearable and needs immediate attention", he said.

Even though the Environmental Health and Management Department of the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly (SAEMA) was ready to accept the Hospital's request to collect the five decomposing unidentified bodies for a mass burial, it said this could only be done on the orders of a court.

Mr George Frimpong, Metropolitan Environmental Officer, however, said his outfit was yet to receive such a request from the Hospital. The Western Regional Police Crime Officer, when contacted told the The officer, who declined to give his name, said the Hospital, could not provide the date or identity of the police officers that they claimed deposited the corpses at the morgue.

"Please go and ask them what shows that the bodies were sent to the hospital by the police", he remarked angrily.

At the Hospital's mortuary, the GNA discovered that adequate or proper records on dead bodies were not kept.

It was also learnt that preservative drugs and chemicals were not administered on corpses sent to the mortuary immediately as this could interfere with police investigation to ascertain the cause of death. 15 Nov. 06