Mortuary attendants on the run over missing corpse at OOUTH

Two mortuary attendants were reported to have been on the run over alleged missing of female corpse deposited at the morgue of the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu.

A Facebook user had posted the development on his wall that family members of the deceased had gone to the hospital to pick up the corpse for burial and the corpse could not be found.

The corpse was reported to have been deposited at the hospital mortuary over four months ago

It was gathered that the development management team of the hospital were yet to come to terms about the missing corpse.

Tribune Online learnt that security agents were at the premises of the hospital to investigate the matter.

The Facebook user had said that family members of the deceased had come from Ijebu-Ode with an ambulance and pall bearers to pick the body for burial while checks were conducted on 69 corpses deposited in the morgue.

It was learnt that two mortuary attendants of the hospital had fled while their mobile lines are not going through.

Meanwhile, the management of the hospital had promised to unravel the “mix-up” surrounding the incident.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr (Mrs) Oluwabunmi Fatungase, in a statement, said management expressed deep concern over the incident.

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The statement reads, “The management of Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu has expressed deep concern over the occurrence of a mix-up of a corpse in the hospital, assuring that it is working towards unraveling the situation.

“There had been some reports that a female corpse is allegedly missing in the OOUTH mortuary when the family came to pick it up for burial.

“In a release signed by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Oluwabunmi Fatungase, the issue of missing corpse is unprecedented in the hospital mortuary.

“Fatungase said the hospital management is working in collaboration with necessary agents and individuals to unravel the circumstances behind the mix-up, noting that footages from the Closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera is being evaluated.

“She said that high level investigation is ongoing on the matter, pleading for the continued cooperation of the affected family.

“The CMD pointed out that the hospital will go as far as conducting DNA test to identify the corpse, adding that any circumvention of the quality assurance of the hospital will not be taken lightly and necessary consequences in consonance with the public service rules will be applied on whoever is found culpable.”

Fatungase said that the present administration in Ogun has upgraded the mortuary with modern freezers and scaled up its amenities, pointing out that mortuary services of the hospital has been a preferred place for many people to keep the remains of their beloved intact until they are ready for burial.

Apologising to the affected family for the embarrassing situation, the CMD said their cooperation towards the ongoing investigation is highly appreciated, assuring that the corpse would be identified and released to them for a befitting burial soon.