A CHRISTCHURCH SCANDAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVI, Issue XLVI, 30 June 1911, Page 2

A CHRISTCHURCH SCANDAL.

FORGOTTEN BODY AND A DEFERRED BURIAL. (United Piiess Association.J CHRISTCHURCH. Thursday. An extraordinary story was told to a reporter this afternoon to the effect that recently a dead body had been permitted by the public authorities to be unburied for a fortnight. The report as it reached, tire reporter was to the effect that a body had been taken to the morgue and left there for identification. Then it had been forgotten, and .it was not until a fortnight later that the body was rediscovered. This seemed to be so like a story from Auckland, that no credence was attached to it, but inquiries- were of • course made in the proper quarters. Sa far as the public morgue was concerned the story was at once given an. emphatic denial. The reporter was ■informed that no case. of the kind had occurred, or was likely to occur. It was suggested, -however, that something of the sort might have- happeupd in one of the institutions of the city. ■ A gentleman "who said that he was acquainted with'the case, to which the rumour referred, said that he- was not I at liberty to discuss it, but that -there iiad undoubtedly been a grave blunder. A patient- suffering from consumption, he said, had died, and (he j body had been unburied for ten or [ eleven days. ' Pressed to state where, j the incident 'had 'happened he named the C-hristchurch Public Hospital. The Hospital authorities, on being seen, stated that the report as given above was much exaggerated. The body of an elderly man whose death was due t 0 consumption had lain in the hospital morgue for a period of over a week, but -under a fortnight. The reason for the delay -was that inquiries were being made as .to whether or not the deceased had any relatives or friends in the district, or the' Dominion. The fact that -the body was lying unburied was not forgotten by fhe authorities, who further state that -in cold-weather such as has been experienced- for locally for -the past two or, three weeks, there- was ' no necessity to hurry the burial of the body, and that in. view of this it was in a place provided for 'the reception of dead bodies. and there was no fear of contagion. The authorities were unable to find any relatives -or friends of the deceased, whose body was buried at the expense -of the Board. Friday. The Hospital authorities observe elose reticence regarding the case iu which a body remained unburied nearly a fortnight; but the facts are being gradually elicited. A patient named Wilson, aged 59 years, died from phthisis on June 11. The body was sent to the morgue in the Hospital grounds. At the same time ; a patient's card endorsed "dead" was forwarded to.-the Hospital Office." At -the office the card ap-' peared to have been filed at once, and ■the death was registered, but the undertakr was not informd, and no arrangements were made for burial. 'No friends inquired for Wilson, and the body lay forgotten, in the morgue rantil June 21. Arrangements, were then made for tlie burial, which took place on June .23. This is the -position so far as can be ascertained. The Hospital Committee will consider the case next week. In- the meantime the authorities decline to make a ; statment.