Bodies of Eighty Stillborns Rot Away at Kakinada Hospital’s Mortuary

KAKINADA:
The bodies of 80 stillborns have been rotting away at the Kakinada Government General Hospital’s morgue for over a month. The gynaecology wing conducted 913 deliveries in July and 983 in August this year. Of them, 80 were stillborn babies. The bodies are generally disposed of by the Kakinada Municipal Corporation (KMC) within a week of them being sent to the morgue.
Since there is not enough storage space in the cold storage unit, three to four bodies have been stuffed into one box. On an average, 20 to 25 infant deaths take place in a week at the hospital. The bodies are piling up at the morgue because of the failure of the civic body to clear them on a regular basis. The KMC spends `300 for the disposal of each body and the process is monitored by the Municipal Health Officer. Though the Forensic Department promptly informs the civic body about the need for removing the bodies, the KMC is said to be showing no urgency.
Because of the delay, the department, as well as surrounding residential areas, are assailed by a foul smell at all times. When contacted, KMC health officer Y Anantha Kumar said the bodies would be buried at the city burial ground on Wednesday.
Reacting to the delay, he said the private tractor engaged by the KMC to carry the bodies to the burial ground was in repairs. He added that hospital authorities had brought the incident to his notice and he had passed on the information to the sanitary inspector concerned. The Kakinada GGH gynaecology department was established in 1941 by the British. The scene at the wing grim.
The 132 beds at the hospital are shared by about 375 expectant mothers every day, which means each bed is occupied by more than two patients.“With kids and attendants, the wing looks like a crowded railway station,” remarked a visitor. Staff shortage is another issue that blights the gynaecology department.
It has one professor, three associate professors and nine assistant professors. They are hardly enough to cater to the needs of the stream of cases flooding the wing.