STATE TIMES NEWS
SRINAGAR: Doctors Asso-ciation Kashmir (DAK) said that Kashmir hospitals lack mortuary vans that are used to transport dead bodies from one place to another.
President DAK Dr Nisar ul Hassan in a statement said none of the hospitals in Kashmir have a mortuary van to ferry dead. Mortuary or hearse van which is equipped with freezer to prevent decomposition of body is designed for conveying dead body, he added.
“At present, ambulances carry the bodies from hospitals, which is illegal. It is justified, if patients, being carried in ambulances die in the way but carrying the dead in the ambulance is not allowed. This puts patients at significant and serious risk of infection. Bodies to be taken to locations outside the city do not get hospital transport and they are carried in public transport putting general public at risk,” he said.
“The corpses are left for hours in hospitals because of lack of transport which leads to delay in burial. They are kept in wards or corridors because hospitals lack morgues that are used for storage of dead bodies till burial. Leaving the bodies like this is against the basic decencies of a civilised society and is utterly unacceptable. This shows sheer lack of respect towards the dead which is sad and ugly. It is imperative to maintain dignity to the dead. The way we treat the dead is of greatest possible significance not just to the health service but to society at large. For if we do not show respect to the dead, we will not show it to the living,” he stated.
