INSTEAD of sending a miscarried foetus to the morgue for burial, Limassol General Hospital staff threw it away as medical waste, which is against procedures, the hospital’s director confirmed yesterday.
A pregnant woman visited the hospital on Sunday last week because she had stopped feeling her baby move, Limassol hospital director Chrysostomos Andronikou said.
The foetus had died at 21 weeks, and the woman had an operation to have it removed. She and her husband did not want to have a burial Andronikou said as they were distraught.
Because the foetus, weighing 700 grammes, was older than 20 weeks, the hospital’s staff should have sent the body to the morgue to arrange for a burial, Andronikou said.
“Something went wrong in this case and an official is examining the issue and if anyone is responsible, we’ll take action, Andronikou told state broadcaster CyBC.
The Cyprus Mail asked what this investigation entailed given that they must know who was involved.
The investigation is taking place “so (those involved) can tell us why the foetus was not sent where it should have been sent,” Andronikou said adding that they might take disciplinary action as appropriate.
Dead foetuses younger than 20 weeks are disposed of as medical waste. The state outsources the processing of medical waste which needs to be treated before it can be processed in waste management facilities.
Sigma TV broke the story after an employee for the company that handles medical waste noticed the foetus this week and notified the hospital’s management.