Doc who last treated Covid victim in transit can issue death certificate

Kolkata: To ease the process of issuing death certificates for Covid-related deaths, the state Health department has published fresh guidelines. As per the new norms, if a patient admitted to a Covid, Pre-Covid or SARI ward of a hospital dies during transit after being referred to another hospital, then the doctor who has treated the patient last in the previous hospital will issue the death certificate.

The relatives of the deceased have to contact the CHMO of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) if the hospital falls under its jurisdiction. In the case of all other urban areas, the relatives of the victims have to contact the Executive Officer or Health Officer of the concerned municipality. In the case of rural areas, the family members of the deceased have to inform the matter to the Block Medical Officer of Health or Block Development Officer for the cremation.

Earlier, people faced difficulties to secure a death certificate when patients died in transit. The guidelines also state that if a patient dies at his or her residence due to complications related to Covid, any recognised doctor under whom he or she was being treated can issue the death certificate either in physical or virtual mode. The doctor will mention the cause of death after the confirmation of death.