Don’t withhold bodies over unpaid bills: Rights panel to hospitals

The Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has warned that the hospitals withholding bodies due to non-payment of medical bills would face legal action.

The guidelines issued to the state government and the Health Department by the PSHRC lay emphasis on dignity of the dead and to streamline the administrative protocols governing the handling, transportation and cremation or burial of unclaimed, unidentified and economically vulnerable deceased persons.

Commission member Jitender Singh Shunty said the hospitals not releasing the bodies for non-payment could face an FIR.

Senior officials had been asked to ensure immediate compliance by the government and private hospitals and district administrations, Shunty said, adding that a nodal officer needs to be appointed in each district to coordinate with the hospitals, police and civic bodies to ensure the timely transfer of remains, with no institution permitted to keep bodies beyond 72 hours except for medico-legal purposes.

According to guidelines, every government and private hospital must maintain at least one fully functional mortuary van exclusively for unclaimed or abandoned bodies, while larger hospitals with more than 100 beds must keep two such vans.

These vans must be GPS-enabled, hygienically maintained and available round the clock, with hospitals required to keep detailed logbooks of their usage. The Commission has directed that all unclaimed and unidentified bodies be transported for cremation or burial with assistance from civic body concerned.

The hospitals must also provide a free dead body transit facility through a dedicated hearse van, while civic bodies and district administrations have been told to stay in touch up with the NGOs to support the last rites.

It has also been directed that hospitals must not refuse assistance for last rites in the case of unclaimed bodies, homeless individuals or families unable to bear expenses.

Further, district and municipal bodies are required to offer free transportation, cremation and ensure the availability of firewood or electric cremation facilities. The authorities concerned must also facilitate the immersion of ashes in accordance with the known customs of the deceased.