The family of a retired police inspector who was a suspected case of H1N1 (swine flu), yesterday had to postpone his funeral because they did not get his death certificate in time.
Grieving widow Nazmin Narine told the T&T Guardian that the wait for her husband William Charles’ documents had left her more depressed than ever.
Charles died on Saturday night after being treated for five days at the San Fernando General Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
But since last Friday, there has been only one employee on duty at the registrar general’s office on the hospital compound. When the T&T Guardian visited the office yesterday, scores of people were lined up outside waiting to register births and deaths.
Narine said she had hoped that Charles’ funeral would take place yesterday.
“We had already put everything in place and the church service was supposed to be for 1 o’clock today,” she said.
“My son and I came here and waited all day on Monday but we never got through. We came back very early this morning (yesterday) and have been waiting since then.”
Narine said the family was also awaiting the results of swab tests done on Charles to reveal whether he had the virus. She called on the Ministry of Legal Affairs to address the issues at the office.
“There is only one person there, she cannot possibly do enough to address the needs of all these people. The ministry needs to intervene and add more staff here. It is the only way things are going to run smoothly.”
Around noon yesterday, Narine was finally able to get the death certificate and she left with her son in tow to start funeral arrangements.
New father Aaron Boodram said he too had already spent two days at the registrar’s office trying to get his son’s birth registered.
Boodram said he and his wife went to the hospital twice on Monday and again yesterday after being told they would not be dealt with on Monday.
“It was only one person and someone came and told us we would not be able to get through in the afternoon, so we came early today (yesterday),” Boodram said.
He said although he had only seen three people dealt with by the clerk between 8 am and 11 am, he was optimistic about getting his son’s birth certificate.
“We are hoping to get through today so we don’t have to come back. But this is really ridiculous. I don’t understand why they don’t have enough staff here.”
The registrar’s office falls under the purview of the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs.
When contacted yesterday, AG Faris Al-Rawi said he was dealing with the situation and was speaking with the Registrar General to find the quickest solution.
Al-Rawi said he would have more information as the day wore on, but subsequent calls to his cellphone went unanswered.
Chief executive officer of the South West Regional Health Authority, Anil Gosine, told the T&T Guardian that the backlog of registration had also affected operations at the hospital morgue, as bodies had to be kept longer until relatives could claim them.