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Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security Major Richard Reese has reported a drastic reduction in the waiting time for post-mortems.
Reese said that in the past, persons had to wait up to four months for post-mortem procedures to be conducted but now the waiting time has been reduced to two weeks or less.
The permanent secretary made the announcement during the 2009 LAMP Forum, hosted by the Ministry of National Security at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Friday. LAMP is a professional forum for lawyers, medical forensic experts and police officers to collaborate regarding the investigation of fatal injuries related to firearms.
New snag
While the waiting time for post-mortems has declined, Reese pointed out that a new snag has occurred where relatives of the deceased delay the process in a bid to avoid paying for lengthy storage of the body after the procedure is completed and before burial.
"We are going to have to do some public education to alert persons that the waiting time has reduced to have them make the arrangements faster but, of course, we could not delay the examination because of their tardiness or non-attendance," he said, noting that over the years people had become accustomed to a six-week waiting period, and this is a major part of the problem.
"The longer we wait, of course, the Government has storage costs, so they will have to make arrangements in a shorter possible time. If not, they have the matter of state burial, so there is an option," added Reese.
He said the ministry is now receiving fewer requests for expedition and, in fact, he has not seen any such requests over the past month. He noted that this is down from five to six requests per week.
Reese noted further that a backlog in post-mortem reports has also been cleared and a waiting area established at the Spanish Town Hospital morgue in St Catherine. He said while it is not a top-class facility, it is an improvement.
During yesterday's forum, Reese pointed to an increase in the number of autopsies now being conducted and attributed this to an increase in the number of days and an increase in the number of locations available. However, while improvements have been made, Reese said there were problems such as the need for more pathologists and portable X-ray units. However, he said this would eventually be solved when the savings realised from the reduction in waiting time for post-mortems materialise.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ews/news4.html
Reese said that in the past, persons had to wait up to four months for post-mortem procedures to be conducted but now the waiting time has been reduced to two weeks or less.
The permanent secretary made the announcement during the 2009 LAMP Forum, hosted by the Ministry of National Security at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston on Friday. LAMP is a professional forum for lawyers, medical forensic experts and police officers to collaborate regarding the investigation of fatal injuries related to firearms.
New snag
While the waiting time for post-mortems has declined, Reese pointed out that a new snag has occurred where relatives of the deceased delay the process in a bid to avoid paying for lengthy storage of the body after the procedure is completed and before burial.
"We are going to have to do some public education to alert persons that the waiting time has reduced to have them make the arrangements faster but, of course, we could not delay the examination because of their tardiness or non-attendance," he said, noting that over the years people had become accustomed to a six-week waiting period, and this is a major part of the problem.
"The longer we wait, of course, the Government has storage costs, so they will have to make arrangements in a shorter possible time. If not, they have the matter of state burial, so there is an option," added Reese.
He said the ministry is now receiving fewer requests for expedition and, in fact, he has not seen any such requests over the past month. He noted that this is down from five to six requests per week.
Reese noted further that a backlog in post-mortem reports has also been cleared and a waiting area established at the Spanish Town Hospital morgue in St Catherine. He said while it is not a top-class facility, it is an improvement.
During yesterday's forum, Reese pointed to an increase in the number of autopsies now being conducted and attributed this to an increase in the number of days and an increase in the number of locations available. However, while improvements have been made, Reese said there were problems such as the need for more pathologists and portable X-ray units. However, he said this would eventually be solved when the savings realised from the reduction in waiting time for post-mortems materialise.
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/glean...ews/news4.html