Air conditioning inside the morgue of SMCH disrupted as miscreants stole copper connectors

The all-important morgue at Silchar Medical College and Hospital is not cooling as it should. The air conditioning has been disrupted and it is because of a technical failure caused by a few thieves.

The number of deaths has increased manifold as COVID continues to claim lives. In Barak Valley, for a population of 40 lakh, there is one medical setup in Silchar Medical College and Hospital that can treat symptomatic and critical patients. Naturally, the number of patients dying in SMCH is also high. Each time a patient dies at the COVID ward, there are certain protocols that the hospital authority need to follow.

After the death of a COVID patient, the body is properly disinfected with 1% sodium hypochlorite and all-natural orifices, as well as punctured areas, are closed with cotton plugs. Then the body is packed in a leak-proof zipped body bag and after that again disinfected with hypochlorite solution and allowed to act for a minimum of 30 minutes. Thereafter the body is again packed and tied in another polythene sheet of 150-micron thickness and the exterior is again disinfected with hypochlorite solution. This is done to eliminate chances of the dead body being a carrier of infection.

Last year, the dead bodies got pilled at the morgue because of the prolonged delay. Silchar does not have a single electric furnace and that is why each cremation on pyre takes around eight hours. Not only the COVID patients, Silchar does not have Cath Lab or facility necessary to conduct angioplasty, so, many die without treatment after a cardiac arrest. Similarly, the unavailability of the neurosurgery department leaves stroke patients with hardly any help. Many a time, these patients end up being at the morgue. Then there are unnatural deaths that necessitate forensic investigation like post mortem. Considering the gravity of the situation, in February this year, Silchar Medical College and Hospital inaugurated what has been defined as the largest mortuary in the Northeast.

Since last couple of days, Dr. Gunajit Das, Professor, and Head of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Silchar Medical College and Hospital is noticing that the cooling in the morgue and sexual offence investigation department is not up to the mark. Dr. Gunajit Das said, when he realized that the A/C wasn’t cooling the temperature down after enough time, he had a hunch that something must be wrong with the air conditioning.

“I sent my attendant to check it out and when he returned, he said that some wire seemed broken as he couldn’t understand properly where the fault lay. When I went there myself to check the issue, I found that in two of those ACs installed at the rear wall of the morgue, somebody cut away a good portion of copper wire connected to the AC which caused the AC to stop working properly,” said Dr. Gunajit Das.

When asked about the security of the campus, Dr. Gunajit Das said that though there were guards on duty that night when it all happened, the burglar must’ve somehow successfully evaded the eyes of the security presence there. This is a grave concern as even though no medical equipment was stolen which might’ve affected the patients more, such a lapse of security might end up harming more in the near future.

Talking on that issue, Dr. Das said, “We have chowkidars stationed at the mortuary and enough light there spot any disturbance. But even then, how come someone could infiltrate and steal things is beyond my comprehension.”

If such a security lapse is not addressed soon, the Silchar Medical College & Hospital could end up losing much more than a few copper wires in near future. Dr. Gunajit Das informed that an FIR has been lodged at Ghungoor Police Station and the police has been requested to investigate the matter.