The biggest BMC-run King Edward Memorial (KEM) Hospital at Parel is all set to have Mumbai’s first official 24x7 post mortem centre to reduce the waiting period of getting the mortal remains of loved ones.
The hospital will have also have a post-mortem department which will be operational round the clock.
This development came after the hospital forensic department felt the need to have the centre open round the clock especially in the ongoing pandemic with 70 per cent COVID-related cases coming to them requiring only certification.
The centre, which is in the midst of a facelift that includes better lighting to conduct autopsies at night, will be functional 24x7 from April 1. It will expedite body handover of non-sensitive and non-medico legal cases by four-six hours as against the present 12 to 24 hours.
At present Sion, BYL Nair, RN Cooper, KEM, Bhagwati, Rajawadi, Shatabdi, St George, GT and JJ hospitals house post mortem centres that are operational only from 9 am to 6 pm, all days of the week.
While post mortem centres have been doing night post mortem on special cases using the discretion of the dean, this will be the first official 24x7 post mortem centre that will have dedicated staff working in three shifts of 8 hours.
Every day, the forensic department at KEM hospital on an average receives 15 to 20 bodies, and conducts six to eight autopsies of which two to three are highly sensitive cases.
There was a dire need for a 24x7 post mortem centre as it will facilitate early handover of the bodies, reduce the harassment of the grieving relatives as well as reduce the infection, said officials.
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