COIMBATORE: The Government Medical College and ESIC Hospital in Coimbatore has conducted 1,500 postmortems related to Medico-Legal Cases (MLC) in the last two years since it became the first ESIC hospital in the country to start an autopsy facility.
The hospital has now strengthened its cold storage capacity. It can preserve up to 29 bodies at a time. Talking about strengthening the cold storage capacity, Hospital Dean M Raveendran said they are preparing to handle mass casualties.
"The cold storage capacity was increased after a firm of Watertec India Pvt Ltd funded Rs 18.5 lakh as a part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR). We already had cold storage where 21 bodies could be stored simultaneously. However, it was improved to prepare ourselves to face disasters and mass casualties," the dean stated.
"Unlike regular government hospitals, the ESI hospital offered only a few services like emergency care for 48 hours and administration of vaccinations. After a long struggle, the Government Medical College and ESIC Hospital was declared the first ESI hospital in the country to start an autopsy facility on its premises. The forensic medicines department started conducting postmortems here on July 22, 2022," Raveendran added.
Our effort to start an autopsy facility reduced the burden on Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH). We have conducted 1,500 postmortems in the last 22 months. The medico-legal cases were reported at 12 stations from the East and South zones of Coimbatore city and 19 stations from the rural sub-divisions Pollachi, Valparai, and Karumathampatti, the dean explained.
C Manoharan, the Head of Deparrtment of Forensic Medicines of the hospital, said, "In medico-legal cases, we conduct autopsies. Potency tests are held in POCSO Act cases. In the forensic medicine department, we can store bodies before and after postmortem. As the jurisdictions we cover usually witness deaths of migrant labourers, we will have to keep their bodies within -4°C to +4°C until their family receives them. Hence the cold storage facility is much needed here. We have also been covering the Valparai jurisdiction where accidents usually happen on the ghat road."