It was a shocking moment for some family members when they discovered that their dead relative whose body was deposited at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, went missing.
Our correspondent gathered that the family members of the deceased were at the hospital on Friday for the retrieval of the remains of the corpse, deposited over four months ago, for burial.
It was further gathered that the family had come all the way from Ijebu-Ode to Sagamu with an ambulance and undertakers for the retrieval of the female corpse but was discovered missing.
Reacting to the development, the management of the OOUTH expressed concern over the incident which it described as a mix-up of a corpse in the hospital.
The hospital management in a statement sighed by its Chief Medical Director, Dr. Oluwabunmi Fatungase, noted it was working towards unravelling the situation.
The statement confirmed that the management received a report that a female corpse was allegedly missing in the OOUTH mortuary following the arrival of the family at the hospital to retrieve the body for burial.
Fatungase said the issue of missing corpse was unprecedented in the hospital mortuary.
According to her, the hospital management is working in collaboration with necessary agents and individuals to unravel the circumstances behind the mix-up.
She noted that footages from the Closed-Circuit Television camera was being evaluated.
She said high level investigation was also ongoing on the matter, pleading for the continued cooperation of the affected family.
The statement partly read, “Any circumvention of the quality assurance of the hospital will not be taken lightly and necessary consequences in consonance with the public service rules will be applied on whoever is found culpable
“The present administration in Ogun State has upgraded the mortuary with modern freezers and scaled up its amenities.
“The mortuary service of the hospital has been preferred by many people to keep the remains of their beloved intact until they are ready for burial.”
Apologising to the affected family for the embarrassing situation, the CMD said their cooperation towards the ongoing investigation is highly appreciated.
She assured that the corpse would be identified and released to them for a befitting burial soon. (PUNCH)