THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The State Human Rights Commission has registered a suo motu case against Alappuzha Medical College Hospital authorities and served a notice on the hospital superintendent for the lapse on their part related to the mix-up of bodies at the hospital and passing on wrong information on death to relatives. The case was registered based on news reports.
The hospital authorities informed relatives of a Covid patient -- Ramanan, 47, a native of Pallikkal in Kayamkulam -- that he had died on Friday evening. The relatives reached the MCH on Saturday morning to take the body to their native place. But soon they realised that the ‘dead person’ was alive and under treatment in the Covid ward of the hospital.
Commission member V K Beenakumari sought an explanation from the hospital superintendent within two weeks. The commission also demanded an explanation for wrongly handing over a body to relatives. On Friday morning, the hospital authorities informed the relatives of Kumaran, a native of Cherthala, that he had died at the MCH.
They released the body to his relative by 7.30 pm on Friday. When the body reached home, the relatives found that it was not that of Kumaran. They returned to the MCH by night and learnt that it was the body of Remanan, 70, of Krishnapuram, Kayamkulam, that was given to them by the hospital staff.
Meanwhile, the authorities informed the relatives of Remanan that he had died by 3 pm. Later the relatives reached the hospital by 8 pm and demanded the body. By that time the relatives of Kumaran were returning with the body of Remanan. Upon checking the body in the ambulance, the relatives of Remanan confirmed that it was that of Remanan. Later the authorities handed over the body of Kumaran to relatives. Both Remanan and Kumaran were in the ventilator of the Covid ward of the MCH.