A few days after a doctor and two head nurses were suspended for the alleged neglect of a patient, the Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital courted yet another controversy when it released the wrong body to a family. The mistake came to light only after the body of the COVID-19-infected patient was cremated.
The issue cropped up after the death of 57-year-old native of Venniyoor, near Vizhinjam, on October 1. He had succumbed to kidney ailments for which he was undergoing treatment in the hospital for nearly 10 days. He was diagnosed with COVID-19 later. The next day, the hospital authorities handed over the body of a COVID-19-infected unidentified person, who had been brought dead to the hospital, to the Venniyoor native’s family.
His son, who had recently come from Abu Dhabi, wanted to see his father for the last time. When he raised doubts upon seeing the deceased person’s face, his relatives attributed the changed appearance to the treatment. The body was consigned to flames at Shanti Kavadom in Thycaud on Friday evening.
Body in mortuary
However, the family’s suspicion came true after the hospital realised its folly on finding his body in the mortuary. Subsequently, Government Medical College Principal Sara Varghese tasked Resident Medical Officer (RMO) Mohan Roy with conducting an inquiry. The hospital claimed to have released the body after being informed by the Vizhinjam health inspector that his son had identified the deceased. The hospital handed over the Venniyoor native’s body to his family on Sunday following which it was cremated in Shanti Kavadom by 4.30 p.m. in line with the COVID-19 protocol. The Vizhinjam police said they were yet to receive any complaint from the family of the deceased.