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48
MORTUARY.
Our handsome and commodious Mortuary has been found a great boon
to the Parish : 102 bodies have been temporarily placed therein.
The post-mortem room has proved a great convenience to the medical
gentlemen of the district. The ventilation is not quite what it might be ;
but it will, I trust, be shortly improved.
Some little difficulty arose as to the duties of the Mortuary keeper, and
complaint was made by a medical gentleman. The difficulty was simply
owing to a misunderstanding of the Mortuary regulations. These were
found to be somewhat loosely drawn, and, by direction of the Sanitary
Committee, they were amended and recast. A copy of them is given
below. I trust they are now sufficiently plain, and that no further misunderstanding
will arise.
REGULATIONS
Under which Dead Bodies arc allowed to be placed in the Mortuary Chapel,
in Saint Matthew's Churchyard.
(Sanitary Act, 1866. Sec. 28.)
1.—All communications having reference to the depositing of dead bodies in the
Mortuary must be made to one of the Sanitary Inspectors, at the Vestry hall, Church row.
2.—Every dead body, previous to its reception at the Mortuary, shall be enclosed in a
shell or coffin, unless in case of emergency.
3.—Where death has arisen from contagious or infectious disease, the coffin must bo
filled in with Sanitas Powder or Carbolic Powder, and properly screwed down before
admission.
4.—In any case coming under the foregoing rule, the coffin shall not be re-opened without
either the order of the Coroner, or the consent in writing of the Medical Officer of
Health authorising the same.
5.—A dead body having been once placed in the Mortuary shall not be removed therefrom
save only for the purposes of burial, unless it shall have been first enclosed in a
hermetically sealed metallic coffin.
6.—The Medical Officer of Health shall prescribe for what period any dead body may
be allowed to remain in the Mortuary; but default being made in the removal of any
dead body, the Relieving Officer of the Parish shall remove and bury the same, and shall
charge all expenses so incurred on the representatives of the deceased.
POST-MORTEM ROOM.
1.—All legally qualified medical men resident in the Parish shall be permitted to use
the Post-Mortem Room.
2.—No Post-Mortem Examination shall be made without either the order of the
Coroner or the written consent of the representatives of the deceased.
3.—No Post-Mortem Examination shall be made on Sundays, unless by special
permission.