Frame Guidelines for Medical Certificate for Death: Human Rights Forum to TN

A. K. Ravikumar, chairman of private hospitals board of IMA in Coimbatore said that the medical practitioners body had issued a State wide circular not to issue the certificate for unknown patients and also in cases when person dies outside hospital - Form IV (a).

“If the person died outside the hospital, a doctor can issue a medical certificate of death if the deceased had consulted him/her within 15 days of the date of death. If the person dies in a hospital, medical certificate of death must be given in form IV,” said Dr. Ravikumar to the Hindu , while welcoming the request for guidelines on the issue.

“Doctors refuse to give the medical certificate as they are afraid of landing in medico legal cases after the final rites. At the same time, people at crematorium demand medical certificate for the deceased. Though some doctors are willing to declare the death of the person, they omit the column where cause of death has to be mentioned. Considering these factors, CHRF has written to the government to set up guidelines for doctors and crematorium operators,” V.P. Sarathy, chairperson of CHRF told the Hindu. He highlighted how middleman take advantage of such situations further adding to harassment of families, thus  demanding the state to frame proper guidelines for doctors and crematorium/burial officials.