​Court orders private hospital to release the body

18 September 2015 05:32 am

A Colombo court yesterday ordered the management of Lanka Hospital Corporation PLC that a body of a deceased person be immediately released to the close relatives, which was reportedly retained under hospital custody for seven days until the hospital bill was settled.

The deceased Tilak Daluwatta of Ragama, Batuwatta (62) had died in the Hospital on September 11 while he was receiving in-house treatment at the hospital following a by-pass surgery.

While ordering the hospital management to release the body of the deceased person to a close relative, Colombo Additional Magistrate Nishantha Peiris observed that respecting the dead was a matter of paramount importance. He further maintained that there was no legal provision to retain a body under anyone’s custody and stated that the hospital could take civil action against the parties over defaulting the hospital bill, if the need arose.

A sibling of the deceased had made a complaint with the Narahenpita Police alleging that the hospital management had retained the body under hospital custody since the relatives of the deceased had not paid the bill amounting to Rs.1.4 million.

The complainant told police that his brother was admitted to the hospital on August 25 for a by-pass surgery since they had been informed that the surgery would cost Rs.650,000. He further stated that they took measures to pay a sum of Rs.300,000 at the beginning. He said his brother’s health condition started to deteriorate even after the surgery was performed on August 25. He further stated that hospital authorities did not take notice on his request that the patient be transferred to the National Hospital in Colombo. (Lakmal Sooriyagoda)