By EHIGIMETOR IGBAUGBA

The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) has given owners of abandoned and unclaimed corpses in its mortuary three weeks to come forward and claim them.

The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof. Ikpeme Ikpeme, gave the deadline in Calabar on Wednesday, during the inauguration of the task force saddled with the responsibility of evacuation of unclaimed corpses.

Represented by the Deputy Chairman of Medical Advisory Committee in charge of Clinical Service, Dr Stephen Ogbudu, Ikpeme gave Oct. 21, as deadline.

He said they noticed affected corpses that had remained in the mortuary beyond the statutory 90-day period from the date of deposition.

Ikpeme noted that some of the unclaimed corpses had been there for over 10 years.

According to him, all affected corpses that remain unclaimed after the deadline will be evacuated for mass burial without further notice.

He urged depositors and relatives of the deceased to take advantage of the three-week grace period to identify and recover the corpses.

He explained that the measure was aimed at decongesting the mortuary and improving service delivery.

He apologised for any inconvenience the exercise might cause and appealed for the understanding of members of the public. (NAN)