One can surely accept all that since COVID-19 has necessitated this distancing and curtailing numbers even in death
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In these extremely stressful times, families are facing a situation where they cannot grieve for their departed loved ones. The nature of the pandemic demands cremation or burial but with extremely few people present. The dead are given a hasty farewell, families are sometimes in quarantine and there is little opportunity or time to grieve or even process the grief. That much-needed comfort cushion for some, an outreach like condolence visits by friends and extended family, is out of the question.
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One can surely accept all that since COVID-19 has necessitated this distancing and curtailing numbers even in death. What is unacceptable though, is the number of cases where bodies are not found, already cremated with the family absent, or, relatives made to sprint between medical facilities or hours spent at the morgue.
It was shocking to read about an 82-year-old woman, a COVID-19 patient, who ostensibly went missing for eight days, being found dead inside the toilet of a hospital.
It is sad that the body was discovered after complaints of a foul stench. How could the hospital staff have not realised that a patient has been missing?
Similar horror tales are featured in a report in this paper with bodies missing, or frantic hunts for patients only to learn that they are dead and the body is cremated.
Streamline the process and bring those negligent to book. Reasons like being overrun with patients or less staff certainly do not hold water in these cases.
Hospitals need to have a foolproof method of keeping track and informing relatives about the status of those admitted. Planning and a proper system need to be set in place and the time to do this is now. One cannot compound the tragedy and trauma of loved ones, with absolutely unforgivable lapses like these. Hospital honchos need to get this in order.
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