It is an extremely curious thing to find an ad in the classifieds asking for the next of kin to contact a certain hospital to reclaim the remains of a patient who passed away.
Why curious?
The ad was located in the most obscure of locations in the classifieds (in between the project tenders page and the Jobs section). Honestly, what are the chances of your next of kin flipping through the classifieds and finding out that your remains need to be reclaimed?
But well, this is hospital procedure...yes, we have to inform the public...we have made reasonable effort to contact the next of kin (really depends on your definition of 'reasonable').
I mean, come on, can we try a bit harder? Like placing a notice on the home page of your hospital web site? That would not cost a cent! Or, if your corporate communications department had a little more creativity, talk to a journalist and persuade them to place a regular column in the main spread for unclaimed bodies. They regularly write stories to inform the public about missing persons in the custody of the Police. Why not human bodies?
Doh! But of course! Because they are DEAD!
But the other thing I noticed was the concluding paragraph where it states "Please note that the body of the deceased will be disposed accordingly..."
I know it is a medically accepted term to say that a body is to be disposed of. But oh such cold, heartless and distant language it exudes!
"the body will be disposed of accordingly..."
Yes, our remains are disposable but surely we are not akin to diapers or styrofoam cups or scrap paper. Could we at least try to show more compassion even for the deceased?
English language teachers, save our societies from further coldness.
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