DEPARTMENT OF FORENSIC MEDICINE

Dr. A.D.Ropmay, MD, Assistant Professor

Introduction

The Department of Forensic Medicine had a humble beginning in February 2009 with the recruitment of a single faculty member. The initial objective of setting up the department was to create an environment suitable for teaching and training students of the MBBS course. After achieving this primary aim, the department is committed to pursuing other long term goals which would benefit patients, society and the community as a whole. Small but steady steps have been to establish a Department that imparts quality education supported by the best available educational resources and audio-visual aids.

Infrastructure

The Department is housed in the first floor of the Faculty Block and has the following facilities:-

• Practical laboratory
• Demonstration room
• Museum
• Departmental library
• Rooms for faculty and staff
• Store room

Autopsy block - The main hospital houses an ‘Autopsy Block’ of approximately 400 sq. metres at the basement (-1 level) with facilities for cold storage of cadavers, ante rooms and washing facilities, and an accommodation capacity for 15-20 students.

Hospital activities

• Regular rounds in Casualty and PICU to find out the number of medico-legal cases (MLC) and poisoning cases admitted there.
• Expert advice on forensic-related matters is available as and when required by residents in Casualty.

Academic Activities

• Classes for MBBS students
• Students are taken to Civil Hospital, Shillong in groups of six every Monday for live postmortem demonstration, accompanied by a Senior Resident Doctor.

Research

The Department is conducting a study on the pattern of poisoning cases admitted to NEIGRIHMS Casualty over a three year period in conjunction with the Forensic Science Laboratory at Shillong.

Future plans

• To extend medico-legal autopsy services for hospital deaths with the approval of the appropriate authority.
• To set up an analytical toxicology laboratory for the analysis of hospital samples from cases of suspected poisoning.
• It is hoped that, in future, the department will be able to form a liaison with the local police and government while dealing with forensic cases.