Govt Hospitals Face Acute Shortage of Mortuary Attendants

KARACHI- Pakistan's most populous city with the highest crime ratio, is facing acute shortage of male and female mortuary attendants in government sector hospitals.

An official posted at Dr Ruth Pfau, Civil Hospital Karachi’s Mortuary, informed that there was an acute shortage of mortuary attendants in public sector hospitals, which is affecting medico-legal procedures as well as dead bodies’ examining process.  He informed that Medico-Legal Section has been established in three major and six other hospitals of Karachi but unfortunately there was acute shortage of staff.   

He said there is an urgent need of 27 male and 9 female mortuary attendants in nine medico-legal sections of Karachi including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Civil Hospital Karachi and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Sindh Government Lyari General Hospital, Sindh Government Hospital Saudabad, Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad, Sindh Government Qatar Hospital Orangi, Sindh Government Hospital Korangi and Sindh Government Hospital New Karachi.

He said currently only seven male mortuary attendants are available in four major hospitals of the city including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Civil Hospital Karachi, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and Sindh Government Qatar Hospital. Meanwhile, the rest of the hospitals have been facing shortage of employees.   

The dead bodies of women were being unlawfully attended by male mortuary attendants due to shortage of lady attendants in Sindh government run hospitals.  He explained that mortuary attendants assist the Medico-Legal Officers (MLOs) during autopsy of bodies at Morgues.

The shortage of male and female mortuary attendants has increased the burden of work on existing attendants in major public hospitals, while in case of any emergency staff has to work extra hours against their duty hours. 

Police Surgeon Karachi, Dr Ejaz Ahmed Khokhar, said only seven male mortuary attendants are available in four major hospitals of Karachi. He said Medico-Legal Department of Sindh Health Department urgently needs 36 mortuary attendants comprising of both male and female workers, to make functional nine ML sections round-the-clock.