A Mortuary's Unseen Burden: The Struggle for Forensic Expertise in Lucknow

There's a quiet, yet persistent, crisis unfolding behind the scenes at Lucknow's mortuary, one that speaks volumes about bureaucratic inertia and the immense pressure placed on our public health system. For far too long now, King George's Medical University (KGMU), a premier institution, has seemingly sidestepped its responsibility to provide a roster of its forensic medicine experts for crucial post-mortem duties. And what's the consequence? An already beleaguered group of doctors from the Provincial Medical and Health Services (PMHS) finds themselves shouldering an increasingly impossible burden.

You see, this isn't some new development or a sudden oversight. It harks back to a significant ruling by the Allahabad High Court in 2007. Justice Virendra Kumar II was quite clear: only qualified medical teachers – think professors, assistant professors, or senior residents specializing in forensic medicine – should be conducting post-mortems. Junior doctors, often MD students, were explicitly excluded from this vital task. The court's directive was simple: KGMU needed to send a proper roster of its qualified faculty. For a while, they did, and it seemed like a sensible solution.

But then, slowly, silently, things reverted. KGMU stopped sharing that crucial roster. What this means, practically speaking, is that the dedicated medical officers of the PMHS are now, once again, the primary, almost exclusive, workforce at the mortuary. Imagine, these doctors are already juggling a dizzying array of responsibilities – administrative duties, countless medico-legal cases, emergency room shifts, and spearheading various public health programs across the city. To then add the emotional and physical toll of conducting 15 to 20 post-mortems every single day? It's simply an unsustainable ask.

Dr. Manoj Shukla, who serves as the General Secretary for the PMHS Association, has voiced this frustration time and again, and rightly so. He points out, quite emphatically, that KGMU faculty members are, in fact, compensated to perform these very duties. Their expertise is not just valuable; it's a critical component of ensuring accurate forensic examinations and, by extension, timely justice. When they're absent, the entire process slows down, creating backlogs and delaying answers for grieving families and law enforcement alike.

The situation isn't just a matter of fairness; it’s a systemic issue with real-world implications. It puts immense strain on our medical professionals, potentially impacting their ability to deliver quality care in other areas. And when it comes to official responses from KGMU? Well, the silence has been rather deafening. Repeated attempts to get a clear statement or a commitment to action often meet with vague replies or, more frequently, no response at all. This lack of accountability only exacerbates the problem, leaving the PMHS doctors to grapple with the consequences.

This isn't an isolated incident either. We saw similar challenges in 2022 with faculty from other government medical colleges in Kanpur and Prayagraj. It suggests a broader pattern of institutions failing to uphold their commitments, especially when it involves tasks that are perhaps less glamorous but undeniably essential. It’s high time KGMU steps up, honors the court’s directive, and provides the necessary support. Our PMHS doctors deserve relief, and the integrity of our forensic process demands it.