Showing posts with label coroner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coroner. Show all posts
2012-03-30
Funeral Fun - Whale of a Transfer
2012-03-14
Ignoring the Dead & the Consequences
One of the biggest issues with the funeral industry is a lack of thought or discussion about it. Not because it is a taboo or inappropriate subject, but for other reasons such as a lack of information and an odd idea that others find it upsetting or taboo. This lack of discussion leds to serious issues and deregulation.
Many argue that it is a 'hidden industry' and that most people do not want to know about it. Either that it is taboo, upsetting or just something to keep quiet. However I disagree with this entirely. People are almost always quite happy to talk about it, and actually really interested in the industry. This is why it started 'The Other Side of Funerals', to feed people the information they crave.
It was almost surprising the first time I saw the white Toyota van and was told that it was the transfer vehicle. It was very unexpected to find out that the body is picked up and brought to the funeral home in the back of a Toyota Hiace van. What was more surprising is how I had never actually thought about this. About how the body is moved about, I knew they would die in hospital then turn up in a coffin at the funeral. Everything in the middle was an absence, an area I had never avoided because I had never even considered it. And I think this is the case for most people. It is not a topic we avoid thinking or talking about, but a topic we never think or talk about.
When driving families whilst on funerals I never brought up the topic of how the industry worked. But it was surprising how often and keenly the family asked me about it. Especially once they realised that I would be open, honest and still quite diplomatic and not graphic about the industry. One would consider this to be an inappropriate time to discuss these things. Here they are, in a black car following a hearse containing the body of their loved one. Yet they always appreciated it, now knowing for sure that their loved one had been treated respectfully and what the basics of the process was. I never once had a bad reaction from those who asked about the industry.
A certain mortician at Westmead Hospital once told me about how the hospital had an open day one a year. And once the heads of the hospital had asked if the mortuary would be appropriate or possible to include in tours. The mortuary staff agreed, saying they had no issue with showing and explaining to people about the mortuary. Then the first open day rolled around which would include the mortuary, the staff did not thinking many of the public would be willing or interested. Yet they had too many people, the day was scheduled to shut at 16:00 and he said they were still letting people inside well after 19:00. It was a huge success and very popular. So popular in fact that the hospital then started regular tours, first focusing on bringing people from the military, police, fire brigade and so on, the aim was to let them experience a body and understand the mortuary. But after a while the mortuary staff put a stop to the tours as they were becoming a 'freak show'. The hospital even went as far as to invite young boy scouts to see the bodies and mortuary. So the public is so keen and willing to see a mortuary.
This defies what I have experienced at most hospitals. Mortuaries are never labelled on maps or the doors, the only two exceptions I know of being Concorde and Westmead. Instead the mortuary is down a corridor at the end of a car park and behind doors that look as though they lead to a closet. Hospitals do their best to hid the fact that they have a mortuary, almost as though admitting its existence would be telling the patients that they will die. They hide the mortuary as though they are hiding the fact of death within their hospital. Yet the one time that I know of where they publicised its existence and even held tours it was hugely popular.
Because we never think of the industry there are a lot of areas and processes which exist, yet are unknown. They are blankes in how we think. perhaps the best example in the movement of the body; tehy die in a nursing home and arrive at the funeral already in a coffin. But how did this happen, how did they make it to the funeral home or into the coffin? You probably do not know and yet it happens every day.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the industry. Because many do not know much about it they believe the strangest things. A great one is that gravediggers steal belongings from coffins, a really odd idea. They barely have time to eat lunch let alone open a whole coffin on the chance that they would get something of value. Or that undertakers will break a persons legs to fit them in the coffin when breaking legs involves so much work compared to bending them (you bend your legs all the time when you walk or sit, it is not hard), or getting just a bigger coffin.
But why is it such a hidden and misunderstood industry? If we are not against talking about it then why do we never actually talk about it? I have heard many argue that it is a taboo topic, something inappropriate to discuss. These people then go on to argue how this is changing over time and the industry is now more 'appropriate' to talk about. While this may have once been true it is no longer the case these days at all. As I said before, people are really interested in the industry and very rarely take offence to anything said. There are two reason I believe people do not know about funerals. The first being that they think others will be offended or find in inappropriate or upsetting. Discussing how a body is moved and handled could upset someone whose loved one recently died. And yet this is rarely if ever the case. People are often more interested as they now have been involved in the process. Plus they like to know how their loved one was treated. The second reason is that people have little information about the industry. How many know someone who works as an undertaker, gravedigger or another similar role? How many have read a book or seen a movie about the funeral industry and not just one set in the industry? There is actually rather little information or acknowledgement of the industry.
So now you might be asking what the result of this lack of knowledge leads to. Well, it has a direct and serious impact on the industry as a whole. The first, and most important to many, case is with hospitals. They hid the morgue for various reasons and this lets the place be mis-managed. Most hospitals have decent morgues, clean enough and organised well enough. I have noticed that those with dedicated and full-time staff are by far the best, especially compared to just having casual support staff who take care of the morgue along with many other duties. Westmead is a good example, with dedicated staff who are responsible for everything they are also proud of everything. The place is so neat and clean that the blue floors would be more hygienic than your kitchen stove. With not even a paint chip or scuff mark to be seen then place is actually really nice inside. At Westmead they also signpost the location of the mortuary, not hiding it from anyone. However RPA there is no sign to identify it, the mortuary is located in the middle of a service corridor, scuff marks along the walls, rubbish and food processing nearby. The support staff are always late to arrive, often making funeral staff wait an hour or more, which is then tacked onto the cost of the funeral for the family. RPA is hated by many in the industry (myself included) and we would never want to have a loved one die in that hospital. And it use to be worse, much worse. The old mortuary was even more run-down and mis-managed to the point where they found a dead baby behind a fridge when renovating. Hiding the mortuary lets problems bread and does not help anyone.
Another issue from a lack of thought is the deregulation of the industry. If one wants to become a funeral director all they really need is a briefcase, phone, fax and computer. Everything else from mortuary to hearse and even staff can be leased out for the day by these "briefcase funeral directors". The result is that they have little control or influence in the process, allowing for all kinds of misconduct and mistakes. It was actually rather amusing but when I started in the industry it was discovered that a small catering company who had never organised a funeral got given an important state funeral in Canberra. Obviously they were the lowest bidder andas such who knows what the funeral was like. There are no qualifications or credentials needed to join the funeral industry, if you want to join all you should have is a drivers license, and even that is optional. This deregulation is also having an impact in transfers. I have heard stories from funeral directors where they have done police transfers, pulling bodies out of cars or taking them from the crime scene to the coroners. And all they get is a regular suit and a pair of latex gloves. Appart from the gloves there is little to no protective equipment. It is not like the movies, or like America, where the coroners has a special and dedicated transfer crew. Instead in Australia it is just a local funeral home who will take the body from one place to the next. Yes, just a couple of undertakers working for minimum wage, with no training and no protective equipment are the ones who transfer bodies about.
Overall the funeral industry is a hidden and unknown one. But not because it is taboo so much as people do not know about it and some think it will offend people. This lack of public knowledge lends room for misconduct and deregulation. No qualifications or training is needed to become a funeral director or transfer bodies from crime scenes or anywhere else. If the public would look at the industry a little closer regulations which are desperately needed could be introduced. The public would also find the work and processes to be a lot less upsetting, taboo or grose than thought.
~~
Many argue that it is a 'hidden industry' and that most people do not want to know about it. Either that it is taboo, upsetting or just something to keep quiet. However I disagree with this entirely. People are almost always quite happy to talk about it, and actually really interested in the industry. This is why it started 'The Other Side of Funerals', to feed people the information they crave.
It was almost surprising the first time I saw the white Toyota van and was told that it was the transfer vehicle. It was very unexpected to find out that the body is picked up and brought to the funeral home in the back of a Toyota Hiace van. What was more surprising is how I had never actually thought about this. About how the body is moved about, I knew they would die in hospital then turn up in a coffin at the funeral. Everything in the middle was an absence, an area I had never avoided because I had never even considered it. And I think this is the case for most people. It is not a topic we avoid thinking or talking about, but a topic we never think or talk about.
When driving families whilst on funerals I never brought up the topic of how the industry worked. But it was surprising how often and keenly the family asked me about it. Especially once they realised that I would be open, honest and still quite diplomatic and not graphic about the industry. One would consider this to be an inappropriate time to discuss these things. Here they are, in a black car following a hearse containing the body of their loved one. Yet they always appreciated it, now knowing for sure that their loved one had been treated respectfully and what the basics of the process was. I never once had a bad reaction from those who asked about the industry.
A certain mortician at Westmead Hospital once told me about how the hospital had an open day one a year. And once the heads of the hospital had asked if the mortuary would be appropriate or possible to include in tours. The mortuary staff agreed, saying they had no issue with showing and explaining to people about the mortuary. Then the first open day rolled around which would include the mortuary, the staff did not thinking many of the public would be willing or interested. Yet they had too many people, the day was scheduled to shut at 16:00 and he said they were still letting people inside well after 19:00. It was a huge success and very popular. So popular in fact that the hospital then started regular tours, first focusing on bringing people from the military, police, fire brigade and so on, the aim was to let them experience a body and understand the mortuary. But after a while the mortuary staff put a stop to the tours as they were becoming a 'freak show'. The hospital even went as far as to invite young boy scouts to see the bodies and mortuary. So the public is so keen and willing to see a mortuary.
This defies what I have experienced at most hospitals. Mortuaries are never labelled on maps or the doors, the only two exceptions I know of being Concorde and Westmead. Instead the mortuary is down a corridor at the end of a car park and behind doors that look as though they lead to a closet. Hospitals do their best to hid the fact that they have a mortuary, almost as though admitting its existence would be telling the patients that they will die. They hide the mortuary as though they are hiding the fact of death within their hospital. Yet the one time that I know of where they publicised its existence and even held tours it was hugely popular.
Because we never think of the industry there are a lot of areas and processes which exist, yet are unknown. They are blankes in how we think. perhaps the best example in the movement of the body; tehy die in a nursing home and arrive at the funeral already in a coffin. But how did this happen, how did they make it to the funeral home or into the coffin? You probably do not know and yet it happens every day.
There is a lot of misunderstanding about the industry. Because many do not know much about it they believe the strangest things. A great one is that gravediggers steal belongings from coffins, a really odd idea. They barely have time to eat lunch let alone open a whole coffin on the chance that they would get something of value. Or that undertakers will break a persons legs to fit them in the coffin when breaking legs involves so much work compared to bending them (you bend your legs all the time when you walk or sit, it is not hard), or getting just a bigger coffin.
But why is it such a hidden and misunderstood industry? If we are not against talking about it then why do we never actually talk about it? I have heard many argue that it is a taboo topic, something inappropriate to discuss. These people then go on to argue how this is changing over time and the industry is now more 'appropriate' to talk about. While this may have once been true it is no longer the case these days at all. As I said before, people are really interested in the industry and very rarely take offence to anything said. There are two reason I believe people do not know about funerals. The first being that they think others will be offended or find in inappropriate or upsetting. Discussing how a body is moved and handled could upset someone whose loved one recently died. And yet this is rarely if ever the case. People are often more interested as they now have been involved in the process. Plus they like to know how their loved one was treated. The second reason is that people have little information about the industry. How many know someone who works as an undertaker, gravedigger or another similar role? How many have read a book or seen a movie about the funeral industry and not just one set in the industry? There is actually rather little information or acknowledgement of the industry.
So now you might be asking what the result of this lack of knowledge leads to. Well, it has a direct and serious impact on the industry as a whole. The first, and most important to many, case is with hospitals. They hid the morgue for various reasons and this lets the place be mis-managed. Most hospitals have decent morgues, clean enough and organised well enough. I have noticed that those with dedicated and full-time staff are by far the best, especially compared to just having casual support staff who take care of the morgue along with many other duties. Westmead is a good example, with dedicated staff who are responsible for everything they are also proud of everything. The place is so neat and clean that the blue floors would be more hygienic than your kitchen stove. With not even a paint chip or scuff mark to be seen then place is actually really nice inside. At Westmead they also signpost the location of the mortuary, not hiding it from anyone. However RPA there is no sign to identify it, the mortuary is located in the middle of a service corridor, scuff marks along the walls, rubbish and food processing nearby. The support staff are always late to arrive, often making funeral staff wait an hour or more, which is then tacked onto the cost of the funeral for the family. RPA is hated by many in the industry (myself included) and we would never want to have a loved one die in that hospital. And it use to be worse, much worse. The old mortuary was even more run-down and mis-managed to the point where they found a dead baby behind a fridge when renovating. Hiding the mortuary lets problems bread and does not help anyone.
Another issue from a lack of thought is the deregulation of the industry. If one wants to become a funeral director all they really need is a briefcase, phone, fax and computer. Everything else from mortuary to hearse and even staff can be leased out for the day by these "briefcase funeral directors". The result is that they have little control or influence in the process, allowing for all kinds of misconduct and mistakes. It was actually rather amusing but when I started in the industry it was discovered that a small catering company who had never organised a funeral got given an important state funeral in Canberra. Obviously they were the lowest bidder andas such who knows what the funeral was like. There are no qualifications or credentials needed to join the funeral industry, if you want to join all you should have is a drivers license, and even that is optional. This deregulation is also having an impact in transfers. I have heard stories from funeral directors where they have done police transfers, pulling bodies out of cars or taking them from the crime scene to the coroners. And all they get is a regular suit and a pair of latex gloves. Appart from the gloves there is little to no protective equipment. It is not like the movies, or like America, where the coroners has a special and dedicated transfer crew. Instead in Australia it is just a local funeral home who will take the body from one place to the next. Yes, just a couple of undertakers working for minimum wage, with no training and no protective equipment are the ones who transfer bodies about.
Overall the funeral industry is a hidden and unknown one. But not because it is taboo so much as people do not know about it and some think it will offend people. This lack of public knowledge lends room for misconduct and deregulation. No qualifications or training is needed to become a funeral director or transfer bodies from crime scenes or anywhere else. If the public would look at the industry a little closer regulations which are desperately needed could be introduced. The public would also find the work and processes to be a lot less upsetting, taboo or grose than thought.
~~
2012-03-09
A Shortage of Forensic Space, Organ Donations & Scientific Donations
There is a severe shortage of organ and body donations around the world. And Australia is no exception, for example at the start of 2012 several people died after eating poisonous mushrooms. Every one of these people would have lived had liver transplants been available in time. Four or so people all died due to there being no livers, in many ways a needless death.
As such I personally believe that to be on the organ recipient list one should be an organ donor first. I do not believe in an opt-out system rather than the current opt-in, rather just refuse people getting a transplant if they are against giving an organ. The main objection to donations is a moral/religious one about dividing up the body is akin to dividing up the person. I will not argue agains this, not because I disagree, but because it is such an individual personal point. It is more than just ones beliefe, it is how they see and identify themselves and others. So pointless or not it is an important reason to some. However if we use this idea and just change the order in which we think about organ transplants we get a different answer. We should ask if it is wrong to remove an organ form someone who died then why is it not just as wrong to receive an organ? If taking an organ out is the same as taking a part of the person themselves out then this is no different with recipients. For example the original faulty heart is removed and replaced with someone else's. So why do we never ask if a part of the recipient is now removed in the same way as we ask this about the donnor? Both had their hearts removed but only one (the donors) is kept 'alive'. Logically people should not argue against removing organs, they should argue against receiving them. But this is a little more clear as it would be arguing to let a person die unnecessarily. If you are against donations then that is fine, but simply flip the order and argue against reception instead and see if the argument changes at all. Simply put donations can save many people from a pointless death and we are seriously short of donations in Australia. And if one is against the donation of an organ then they should not be eligible to receive an organ. Otherwise it is hypocritical.
People also argue against transplants as a way to stop the black market. This is just a pointless argument that quite frankly makes no sense. The fact that there is a black market in organs is evidence that we need to supply more and do more to mainstream the process. If there were plenty of organs available then there would be no need or room for a black market. Take cigarets for example, there is little to no black market for them anywhere they are freely available, even despite the high cost in Australia. Yet they are traded illegally where they are less common. From poorer nations to prisons, wherever they are scarse there is a black market for them.
Everyone has an opinion on organ donation, but they often forget about donats to science and teaching. This is actually a rather important area and issue, medical professionals learn with cadavers.
There is a significant shortage of bodies donated to research. Again, one should ask why should people be treated by doctors who learnt with cadavers yet refuse to become a cadaver? A main objection many raise about being used in research after death is that it is "icky" or that 'bad things go on'. People do not like the idea of it, viewing the process as cold, inhumane and pointless. But it is essential to our medical understanding and due to a shortage Australia is starting to lag behind the rest of the world. This is such an incorrect impression, they are not butchers who just hack up bodies. Interestingly enough, an anatomy student once said that the vast majority of cadavers for research come from people who did the research. Not just regular doctors, but specialists; anatomists, medical teachers. Or from upper education in the medical field such as those who belong to the illuminati. In other words those who did the research regularly, or had an involvement in it, are the supporters and providers of cadavers. While the general public, the majority of the users of this research, are against the donations.
Another area many never think about is where the bodies are kept. Bodies used for research, court cases or other similar situations are called 'forensic cases' and stored in a separate system to 'regular' bodies. From the paperwork to the actual fridge they are separate from other bodies until they are no longer considered forensic cases. And just like with the donations there is a shortage of space for forensic cases. It is actually quite a serious issue and they are always desperate for more space. Especially since Westmead Hospital closed down their forensic storage capacity to save money. There is less space for forensic storage and more demande for it.
Overall there is a serious shortage of organs, bodies and space for medical or forensic purposes. And while some have valid reasons not to donate we should all actually think about the issue. But how about we change the questions a little. For example do not ask would we donate an organ from ourselves, or our loved ones. Instead ask would we accept an organ to save our live or the live of a loved one? Or why it would be acceptable to take an organ but not give one. Again, we should not falsely think about the bad conditions of becoming a cadaver but rather about the positive outcome. About our medical staff being properly trained and experienced.
All the above is an opinion piece to encourage thought and debate. At the end of the day everyone has a right to their decision, but they should question and evaluate that decision regularly. If some do not just disagree but are offended or upset by anything here then there is nothing wrong with that. I do not actually mean to change minds or opinions. The goal here is to question and think about our attitudes to the processes that go on after death.
~~
As such I personally believe that to be on the organ recipient list one should be an organ donor first. I do not believe in an opt-out system rather than the current opt-in, rather just refuse people getting a transplant if they are against giving an organ. The main objection to donations is a moral/religious one about dividing up the body is akin to dividing up the person. I will not argue agains this, not because I disagree, but because it is such an individual personal point. It is more than just ones beliefe, it is how they see and identify themselves and others. So pointless or not it is an important reason to some. However if we use this idea and just change the order in which we think about organ transplants we get a different answer. We should ask if it is wrong to remove an organ form someone who died then why is it not just as wrong to receive an organ? If taking an organ out is the same as taking a part of the person themselves out then this is no different with recipients. For example the original faulty heart is removed and replaced with someone else's. So why do we never ask if a part of the recipient is now removed in the same way as we ask this about the donnor? Both had their hearts removed but only one (the donors) is kept 'alive'. Logically people should not argue against removing organs, they should argue against receiving them. But this is a little more clear as it would be arguing to let a person die unnecessarily. If you are against donations then that is fine, but simply flip the order and argue against reception instead and see if the argument changes at all. Simply put donations can save many people from a pointless death and we are seriously short of donations in Australia. And if one is against the donation of an organ then they should not be eligible to receive an organ. Otherwise it is hypocritical.
People also argue against transplants as a way to stop the black market. This is just a pointless argument that quite frankly makes no sense. The fact that there is a black market in organs is evidence that we need to supply more and do more to mainstream the process. If there were plenty of organs available then there would be no need or room for a black market. Take cigarets for example, there is little to no black market for them anywhere they are freely available, even despite the high cost in Australia. Yet they are traded illegally where they are less common. From poorer nations to prisons, wherever they are scarse there is a black market for them.
Everyone has an opinion on organ donation, but they often forget about donats to science and teaching. This is actually a rather important area and issue, medical professionals learn with cadavers.
There is a significant shortage of bodies donated to research. Again, one should ask why should people be treated by doctors who learnt with cadavers yet refuse to become a cadaver? A main objection many raise about being used in research after death is that it is "icky" or that 'bad things go on'. People do not like the idea of it, viewing the process as cold, inhumane and pointless. But it is essential to our medical understanding and due to a shortage Australia is starting to lag behind the rest of the world. This is such an incorrect impression, they are not butchers who just hack up bodies. Interestingly enough, an anatomy student once said that the vast majority of cadavers for research come from people who did the research. Not just regular doctors, but specialists; anatomists, medical teachers. Or from upper education in the medical field such as those who belong to the illuminati. In other words those who did the research regularly, or had an involvement in it, are the supporters and providers of cadavers. While the general public, the majority of the users of this research, are against the donations.
Another area many never think about is where the bodies are kept. Bodies used for research, court cases or other similar situations are called 'forensic cases' and stored in a separate system to 'regular' bodies. From the paperwork to the actual fridge they are separate from other bodies until they are no longer considered forensic cases. And just like with the donations there is a shortage of space for forensic cases. It is actually quite a serious issue and they are always desperate for more space. Especially since Westmead Hospital closed down their forensic storage capacity to save money. There is less space for forensic storage and more demande for it.
Overall there is a serious shortage of organs, bodies and space for medical or forensic purposes. And while some have valid reasons not to donate we should all actually think about the issue. But how about we change the questions a little. For example do not ask would we donate an organ from ourselves, or our loved ones. Instead ask would we accept an organ to save our live or the live of a loved one? Or why it would be acceptable to take an organ but not give one. Again, we should not falsely think about the bad conditions of becoming a cadaver but rather about the positive outcome. About our medical staff being properly trained and experienced.
All the above is an opinion piece to encourage thought and debate. At the end of the day everyone has a right to their decision, but they should question and evaluate that decision regularly. If some do not just disagree but are offended or upset by anything here then there is nothing wrong with that. I do not actually mean to change minds or opinions. The goal here is to question and think about our attitudes to the processes that go on after death.
~~
2012-03-01
The Slow Rise of Obesity
Obesity and heavy bodies are becoming an increasing problem for the funeral industry. Yes, on one hand it means a shorter life spane which is good for the industry. But more importantly it is causing big issues and costing the whole industry a lot of time and money. So here is a look at some changes being introduced to handle heavy bodies and why.
Australia now has a higher number of obese people than America. And there is countless evidence to show how Australians are getting heavier. Indeed there is no doubt that the average weight is changing. So the funeral industry, just like many other industries, will have to keep up with this change.
Any body over 70kg is tricky to work with. At 90kg they become difficult and require special attention. The first issue we have with a heavy body is with the transfer. The transfer crew consists of two people. Only two people and little special equipment. This makes moving 90kg+ of dead weight very difficult. And as I outline in the house transfers post most homes were not designed to move a body through. Hence the saying "I hope they die on the ground floor". So some of the first changes seen in the funeral industry are procedural changes dealing with transferring heavy bodies. They are designing special courses solely dedicated to teaching staff how to safely move a heavy body. These courses are targeted at western Sydney, such as Liverpool, Penrith, Eastern Creek, Paramatta, etc. Obviously this is because there is a higher rate of obese people people in Western Sydney. And truth be told all except for one of the heavy or obese bodies I have transfered were either from the coroners or from Westmead Hospital.
I remember assisting the embalmer with a big guy from the Pacific Islands. The skin on his skull was over an inch thick, and it should only be a few millimetres at most. Usually the embalmer can work alone and have a body fully embalmed in about three hours. However it took three of us about two days just to embalm him. Then five of us another day to dress and coffin him.
Special body bags and coffins for heavy or large bodies have always existed. But their rate of use is increasing. Now body bags with handles are becoming more common and are almost a regular site for many transfer crews. One coffin manufacturer told me how he is making proportionately more oversize (OS) coffins than he did a few years ago. He is also looking at different, more secure ways to attach the handles to coffins.
Most normal OS coffins will fit in a hearse and most other spaces without too much trouble. It might be a bit tight, but it can get about. However the custom larger OS coffins are another story, some will not even fit in the hearse. A transfer van is the only option for transporting a large OS coffin. And nobody could carry it by handles, so no handles are attached (which also saves space). They carry it on three to four long bars they place underneath the coffin. This means there is always three to four people on each side, making it easier to carry. However this coffin is too large for most cemeteries and crematoriums. We struggle to fit something like that through a large door, having to go through the service garage door.
Most of these large coffins do not fit in many regular crematoriums, either through the doors or in the 'burner' itself. Just last year crematorium set about installing a spacial new 'burner' to cremate larger bodies. It will have a bigger door and more space inside because they had a couple of bodies that would not fit in the crematorium. They had to get the funeral director to re-coffin the body into a smaller custom made coffin with thin walls. Squishing up the body to do so. A regular 'burner' costs over $250,000 just to buy, let alone install. So a special larger one will cost a lot more. Yet it is obviously worth it and they will be one of the only crematoriums to have the larger accommodation. The average burning time is about 3 hours for most bodies. However they have had a couple in recent time who took 24-36 hours. This is a big difference from most people.
Recently the coroners at Glebe installed a special lifting machine over the lift we use to load bodies in and out of the coroners. This lifting device is designed to move a body between the coroners trolleys and the transfer stretcher. It is not just bolted onto the roof but has its own special frame built into the roof and has a weight rating of up to 400kg. This would have easily cost tens of thousands to buy and install. And the coroners had their last budget heavily slashed so much they had to reduce staff in some areas. But again, just like the special cremator it is worth it.
There were rumours that the cemeteries were considering increasing the size of grave plots. You can buy larger plots, or double sized plots. But the rumour was that they were looking at increasing the average size of plots. And cemeteries are very space conscious. They covert space and hold on to it with devotion, always desiring and devouring more. After all, once a space is taken it will be decades before it may become open again. Waverly for example is mostly closed, to buy a plot there would cost at least $70,000 for just one, if it is even available. And selling space is worth a lot, they even take out or shrink roads to make space for more grave plots. Others constantly try to expand into neighbouring national parks or empty land. For the cemeteries to increase plot size would be to lose land, which is a massive issue for the cemetery.
Overall many new procedures, technologies and attitudes are being developed to deal with the increasing number of obese people in Australia. All at great cost, time and effort. But in the end many organisations see it as worth it.
~~
Australia now has a higher number of obese people than America. And there is countless evidence to show how Australians are getting heavier. Indeed there is no doubt that the average weight is changing. So the funeral industry, just like many other industries, will have to keep up with this change.
Any body over 70kg is tricky to work with. At 90kg they become difficult and require special attention. The first issue we have with a heavy body is with the transfer. The transfer crew consists of two people. Only two people and little special equipment. This makes moving 90kg+ of dead weight very difficult. And as I outline in the house transfers post most homes were not designed to move a body through. Hence the saying "I hope they die on the ground floor". So some of the first changes seen in the funeral industry are procedural changes dealing with transferring heavy bodies. They are designing special courses solely dedicated to teaching staff how to safely move a heavy body. These courses are targeted at western Sydney, such as Liverpool, Penrith, Eastern Creek, Paramatta, etc. Obviously this is because there is a higher rate of obese people people in Western Sydney. And truth be told all except for one of the heavy or obese bodies I have transfered were either from the coroners or from Westmead Hospital.
I remember assisting the embalmer with a big guy from the Pacific Islands. The skin on his skull was over an inch thick, and it should only be a few millimetres at most. Usually the embalmer can work alone and have a body fully embalmed in about three hours. However it took three of us about two days just to embalm him. Then five of us another day to dress and coffin him.
Special body bags and coffins for heavy or large bodies have always existed. But their rate of use is increasing. Now body bags with handles are becoming more common and are almost a regular site for many transfer crews. One coffin manufacturer told me how he is making proportionately more oversize (OS) coffins than he did a few years ago. He is also looking at different, more secure ways to attach the handles to coffins.
Most normal OS coffins will fit in a hearse and most other spaces without too much trouble. It might be a bit tight, but it can get about. However the custom larger OS coffins are another story, some will not even fit in the hearse. A transfer van is the only option for transporting a large OS coffin. And nobody could carry it by handles, so no handles are attached (which also saves space). They carry it on three to four long bars they place underneath the coffin. This means there is always three to four people on each side, making it easier to carry. However this coffin is too large for most cemeteries and crematoriums. We struggle to fit something like that through a large door, having to go through the service garage door.
Most of these large coffins do not fit in many regular crematoriums, either through the doors or in the 'burner' itself. Just last year crematorium set about installing a spacial new 'burner' to cremate larger bodies. It will have a bigger door and more space inside because they had a couple of bodies that would not fit in the crematorium. They had to get the funeral director to re-coffin the body into a smaller custom made coffin with thin walls. Squishing up the body to do so. A regular 'burner' costs over $250,000 just to buy, let alone install. So a special larger one will cost a lot more. Yet it is obviously worth it and they will be one of the only crematoriums to have the larger accommodation. The average burning time is about 3 hours for most bodies. However they have had a couple in recent time who took 24-36 hours. This is a big difference from most people.
Recently the coroners at Glebe installed a special lifting machine over the lift we use to load bodies in and out of the coroners. This lifting device is designed to move a body between the coroners trolleys and the transfer stretcher. It is not just bolted onto the roof but has its own special frame built into the roof and has a weight rating of up to 400kg. This would have easily cost tens of thousands to buy and install. And the coroners had their last budget heavily slashed so much they had to reduce staff in some areas. But again, just like the special cremator it is worth it.
There were rumours that the cemeteries were considering increasing the size of grave plots. You can buy larger plots, or double sized plots. But the rumour was that they were looking at increasing the average size of plots. And cemeteries are very space conscious. They covert space and hold on to it with devotion, always desiring and devouring more. After all, once a space is taken it will be decades before it may become open again. Waverly for example is mostly closed, to buy a plot there would cost at least $70,000 for just one, if it is even available. And selling space is worth a lot, they even take out or shrink roads to make space for more grave plots. Others constantly try to expand into neighbouring national parks or empty land. For the cemeteries to increase plot size would be to lose land, which is a massive issue for the cemetery.
Overall many new procedures, technologies and attitudes are being developed to deal with the increasing number of obese people in Australia. All at great cost, time and effort. But in the end many organisations see it as worth it.
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2012-02-13
Relocation Transfers
This is the ‘leftover’ method of transfer. Basically it is anything that does not fit into one of the other three categories. A good example would be ‘police transfer’, something I have never done. A police transfer is when the body is taken out of a crime scene, such as a in a suicide, murder or accident. Because I have never done one I cannot speak to them much, other than the stories I have heard. But one thing that surprised me, and surprises many others, is that there is no government or special organisation to do this job. Just funeral homes basically. And they get no special training or equipment other than. They have ordinary latex gloves and sometimes shower-caps on their shoes. Other than that they are ordinary people with no qualifications who are paid minimal wage and wear a business suit.
Glebe Coroners:
The corners is a mixed bag at the best of times. One simple mix up on your paperwork, a queue, or any other unpredictable delay and you can be held up for as little as 10minutes or as log as an hour. They are heavily underfunded and mostly understaffed and over worked (this is where all coronial and most forensic cases go) so do not blame the staff. They are actually very good, always being nice and efficient every time I have been there. The coroners is also very particular about paperwork, so make sure you have everything and that it is correct.
- Enter via Arundel st, Forest Ledge.
- The entrance is through the glass doors on the brown building with the four red pillars. Park by the row of small trees right outside the building. Although it says no parking this is actually special parking just for police and mortuary vehicles. So do not worry.
- Go in the double glass doors and up to the counter behind the glass. This is where you will give them all the papers and see how long it will take. But this is not where you get anything.
- Once they have everything they need go back to the car and drive into the large garage door between the red pillars. It is just on the left after the row of small trees. Often they will open it as you approach, but if they do not buzz the intercom to enter.
- The mortuary dock will be on the left. Reverse up to it and get as close to the lift as you safely can. Load the stretcher onto the lift and raise it up as high as you can.
- Leave the stretcher on the lift and wait by the glass doors to be let in.
- Go into the actual mortuary, it will smell funny, due to the cleaners they use, hence the nick-name ‘the fish markets’.
- The body should be waiting you you as you enter. They will then ask you to read the number on the red writ tag on the body.
- Check for valuables and if infections!! Place your writ tag on the body.
- Now fill in their mortuary book, it is different to most and will need you to input the next of kin name, your name, your company, date, time and initial a declaration. All of this is on the one page. If unsure ask them, they are nice and know what they are doing.
- This is where they will give you all your paperwork, the DC, CC and so on. Make sure you do not leave without it.
- Wheel the body on its trolley out into the car park, load them up onto your stretcher which should still be on the lift.
- Lower the lift as far as it goes and put the stretcher into your car.
- Drive out, you may have to use the button on the right by the door to open it.
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