An acute manpower crisis in the forensic section of Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College and Hospital is seriously hampering educational activities, medical test of women victims of oppression and autopsy of bodies as six out of eight posts in the section lie vacant.
The forensic section of the hospital works under the anatomy department of the medical college since the inauguration of the institution in 1968.
Now the vacant six out of eight posts of this department include one for professor cum head of the department, one for associate professor, two for lecturers, one for male and one for female medical officer.
Only two doctors including Dr Akhtaruzzaman Talukdar, assistant professor and acting head of forensic medicine, and another lecturer of the department, are running the both academic and postmortem, forensic examination works at the college and the hospital.
Official sources said a total of 350 postmortem examinations are done every year on average under this department.
This year from January to November 2, a total 276 bodies were sent for postmortem and 205 female victims of oppressions for forensic and medical test to the hospital.
However reports of more than one-third examinations are yet to be completed or not submitted due to acute shortage of manpower, Dr Akhtaruzzaman, acting head of the forensic section of the college, acknowledged.
Only two doctors are now performing eight duties including teaching the students, autopsy, medical examining female victims of oppression, spot examining of the victim, sending viscera to Dhaka, giving witness before the trial court, attending training seminar, symposium and other co-curricular and professional activities, he explained.
Not only the posts of doctors, but also the posts of taxidermist cum assistants of autopsy are also needed urgently to run the daily activities of the department, he said.
A man, who was a MLSS employee of the hospital, and four members of Dalit community, is working privately as coroner’s assistant for assisting autopsy taking Tk 400 to Tk 1,000 for per autopsy from the relatives of the victim.
Dr Akhtaruzzaman said officially there is no post of coroner’s assistant in any of the public hospitals.
However their works are done by unofficial private arrangements as their service is urgently needed during autopsy of bodies.
Dr Ferdous Alam Shibir, director of the hospital, and Dr Shahidul Alam, principal of the college, acknowledging the situation, said preparing postmortem reports in cases of unnatural deaths and medical tests of female victims of oppression are facing acute problem at both medical and legal jurisprudence and the higher authorities have also been informed of the situation.
However filling the vacant posts seems uncertain due to shortage of experienced and sincere manpower, they acknowledged.
-With New Age input
