PESHAWAR, Feb 6: Doctors at the government-run hospitals are reluctant to perform the post-mortem examinations at night owing to lack of security arrangements, leaving the mourning heirs of the dead to wait till the next day, it is learnt.

Officials said that shortage of staff and poor security arrangements at government-run hospitals prevented the medico-legal officers (MLOs) from conducting post-mortem examinations at night.

The officials said that the provincial health secretary on Aug 30, 2003, had issued a letter asking all its sub-offices, chief executives of the Khyber Teaching Hospital, Lady Reading Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Ayub Medical College in Abbottabad, and principal of the Khyber Medical College to ensure that autopsies were conducted at night.

The letter, citing the NWFP Assembly’s resolutions 83 and 102, had explained that there was no legal bar under the Criminal Procedure Code or police rules for conducting post-mortem examinations at night.

However under the instructions issued by the then health department, West Pakistan Instructions for Conduct of Postmortems and Medico-legal Examinations, it was laid down in item No 14 (10) of Appendix 1 that such autopsies should not be performed during night.

The letter further said that since the instructions had been issued at a time when the electricity was generally not available it was decided that the examinations should take place in daytime.In view of the changed situation and people’s difficulties, it had been decided that when arrangements for shadowless ice-blue light were available, the post-mortem examination should be conducted at all hours.

It said that where the arrangements were not available, such examination should take place at all times in a proper room whose interior was painted ice-blue and had fluorescent tube lights.

The secretary’s letter had also directed the officials concerned that the post-mortem reports should be issued within 12 hours of the examination, but people still face inordinate delays.