The staff identified him dead on September 5 (Representational Image)
A 55-year-old Australian man was sent to the morgue of Rockingham hospital in Perth, a doctor has claimed. The man, Kevin Reid was in palliative care when he was declared dead. A local coroner's court has confirmed that it is currently investigating the alleged incident, reported Express. Uk.
The staff identified him dead on September 5 and informed the family before they transferred the man to the morgue, but a death certificate was not issued immediately. The next day, a doctor who certified the death said that they found signs that the patient may have been alive when taken to a morgue.
According to a report by Business News, staff told the doctor Mr Reid's body had been placed in the morgue in a resting position, in a clean gown, with his eyes closed. But the doctor found that there was blood on the gown, the body was lying differently than how the staff had described it, the bag was unzipped and the eyes were open.
The doctor told a coroner's court, “I believe the fresh blood from a new skin tear, arm position, and eye signs were inconsistent with a person who was post-mortem on arrival at the morgue.”
The local media claimed that they made the death certificate on September 6, but was later asked by the hospital officials to backdate it to September 5.
It is reported that the doctor has left the hospital and the hospital is now trying to cover up the event.
“After receiving notification from a doctor at the Rockingham Hospital of the death of a 55-year-old man, the coroner's court commenced investigating whether the death is a reportable death. The court does not make public any of those investigations,” said a coroner's office spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Australia's South Metropolitan Health Service has denied that Mr Reid had been alive when placed in a body bag, offering a different possible explanation for what the doctor observed, reported Express.Uk.