The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) has given relatives and owners of abandoned and unclaimed corpses in its mortuary three weeks to come forward and claim them, ahead of a planned mass burial.
The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Ikpeme Ikpeme, announced the deadline in Calabar on Wednesday, September 30, during the inauguration of a task force responsible for evacuating unclaimed corpses. He was represented by the Deputy Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee in charge of Clinical Services, Dr Stephen Ogbudu.
Ikpeme said the notice affected corpses that had remained in the mortuary beyond the statutory 90-day period after deposition, noting that some had been kept there for more than 10 years.
He said all affected corpses that remained unclaimed after the October 21 deadline would be evacuated for mass burial without further notice. He urged relatives and other depositors to use the three-week grace period to identify and recover the remains of their loved ones.
According to him, the exercise is intended to decongest the mortuary and improve service delivery. He apologised for any inconvenience the measure might cause and appealed to members of the public for understanding.
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