After a long time, the Punjab police, Primary Health Care Department and Specialised Health Department decided that biometric verification vans of the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) will be used to identify unattended and unidentified patients or dead bodies coming to all government hospitals as well as mortuaries across the province.
In this regard, the Primary Health Care and Specialised Health Department have issued notifications on Wednesday.
Recently, these mobile vans of NADRA successfully verified two unconscious patients at Mayo Hospital. Their families were traced and then they were handed over to their relatives.
It is pertinent to mention that more than 450 unidentified people including women and children are found dead in different city police station areas in the provincial metropolis every year.
Out of them, only two to three unidentified deceased persons have been identified, while a majority is buried unidentified through Edhi Service, Ubair, Subhani Trust and other private welfare trusts in different graveyards.
A number of unattended or unidentified patients are shifted to public hospitals across the province. They are the ones suffering from various medical problems, road accidents or other issues and have been rescued by 1122 or passersby. Sources said that hospitals provide them treatment as per their condition but the problem is that of identifying them.
“It is a sad reality that if any police station receives a call about an unidentified dead body in their respective areas, first they completely avoid from delving into the issue. Some policemen also try to shift the dead body to some other police station jurisdiction,” police said, while talking exclusively to Daily Times.
However, they added that in same scenario, hospital management informs the concerned police station about any unknown and unattended injured person. After taking down the details of that unidentified body, the police vanish, leaving the hospital authorities to take care of the dead person.
Now, latest technologies have been introduced all over the country.
Sources informed that at least Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 are spent initially on the legal procedure of shifting the dead person’s body, the postmortem and then the burial.
They informed that as per law, the police officers deputed in different stations first take a picture of the dead person, spread the word everywhere and try to obtain his/her bio-data. They also give out their picture in newspapers and other media houses. When no one claims the dead bodies, than as per, the police have to bury them. The sources informed that it’s not like nobody gets identified, but a major chunk remains unwanted and unidentified.
Young Doctors Association (YDA) Pakistan Secretary Dr Salman Kazmi has appealed to the Inspector General Punjab Police to pass directions to all police stations that identification of unattended patients and dead bodies can easily be done by using the latest technology for all in future.
The YDA has also thanked the health department for supporting the initiative and issuing the notification for the betterment of the common people.
Published in Daily Times, August 2nd 2018.