CHENNAI: The management of the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital conducted a detailed probe and issued a memo to a doctor after the two bodies of teens were misidentified and handed over to wrong families following a postmortem. The incident came to light on Sunday evening after the family that was handed over the wrong body returned to the hospital to get back the body of their daughter.
According to the city police the mismatch was over the bodies of S Anushya (19) of Arambakkam in Tiruvallur district, and P Priyadharshini (18) of Manali.
Anushya was admitted to the hospital after she tried to end her life herself on Friday and died while on treatment on Saturday.
Priyadharshini also ended her life and her body was brought to the Stanley hospital on the same day. The bodies were kept at the mortuary.
Priyadarshini’s relatives identified the body, and a postmortem was performed. However, hospital staff handed over Anushya’s body to Priyadarshini’s family around 3.30 pm on Sunday.
While performing last rites, the family realised it was not Priyadarshini’s body and around 4.30pm they rushed back to the hospital and recovered Priyadarshini’s body. Anushya’s body was handed over to her parents around 5.45 pm, police said.
Dr A Aravind, hospital dean, said a memo has been issued to an assistant professor of forensic medicine.
“A team of doctors conducted a detailed inquiry and submitted the report. It was sent to the Directorate of Medical Education and Research also. There was a confusion, as the age of the teens, cause of death and identification marks were similar. Parents also misidentified. After the body was taken, the hospital alerted the police, and by the time police also realised it. They brought back the body,” the dean added.
(Assistance for those having suicidal thoughts is available on TN’s helpline 104 and Sneha’s helpline 044-24640050)
