COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) is renovating its mortuary at a cost of Rs 81 lakh to manage the medico-legal procedures. The existing single-body cabinets are being replaced with a walk-in freezer for long-term storage of dead bodies.
The Department of Forensic Medicine at the CMCH is located in a separate block, known as the Temple of Medical Education, on Arts College Road, at the rear end of the hospital campus, and was reconstructed in 2015. After around 10 years, the mortuary is gearing up for another facelift from the Health Department's contribution.
According to a CMCH official, the current cold storage systems at the mortuary, which can handle 24 dead bodies at a time, are condemned.
"When the bodies are frequently moved from individual cabinets, the condenser of the freezers gets damaged and requires repair. Also, the entire cold storage system was set up more than eight years ago. We have chosen the walk-in freezer, where the entire chamber will be cold, to ensure the longevity of the machines. However, it should be ensured that the main doors are closed," said Dr Saravana Priya, Resident Medical Officer of CMCH.
"The upgrade will help to handle 30 to 35 dead bodies at a time. Some civil work would also be carried out in the mortuary building as part of the renovation project," she added.
According to the RMO, though ESI hospital shares the load of postmortem examinations, the CMCH hardly receives 10 to 15 medico legal cases per day for autopsy. She stressed that the renovation is required. The officials also planned to install a roof for the public waiting area and curtail unknown vehicle entry inside the mortuary premises.