Dental identifications lost to region
Grieving Taranaki families face travelling to Hamilton or Palmerston North to have their love ones identified under changes to the post-mortem system, a forensic dentist has warned.
Dr David Antunovic, who since 1991 has identified victims of disasters such as the Christchurch earthquake, the Boxing Day tsunami in Phuket and plane and car crashes, said he was recently stood down when the Coroner ruled a body had to be taken from Taranaki to Hamilton. Last year the Ministry of Justice renewed its pathology contracts, and since September 1, 2018 if a post-mortem is required a body has been taken to Hamilton or Palmerston North for autopsy.
If a post-mortem is not required, then dental identification can be completed in Taranaki, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said in an emailed statement.
The spokesman said in the case Antunovic described, ‘‘a miscommunication occurred when an odontologist was not required for identification’’.
But Antunovic, secretary of the NZ Society of Forensic Odontology (NZSFO), disputed this. He said he’d been told dental identification would no longer be carried out in Taranaki.
‘‘Under the new regulations and contracts your family member will be bundled into a hearse and transported three to four hours away to Hamilton or Palmerston North, for the simple identification of their remains.
‘‘This procedure has in the past been carried out in Taranaki, the home region of the victim.’’
Antunovic warned that moving the body ups the error rate in the identification.
‘‘Teeth can drop out; you lose things in the transitions process. It’s not logical.’’
He also feared the potential for long delays before the family member was returned home.
‘‘Previously, forensic dentists from Taranaki would identify victims of sudden death. Under the old system these deceased family members could be returned to their wha¯nau and families on the same day.
‘‘Immediate remedial action needs to be taken by the Minister to reverse this imbecilic decision. And I’m led to believe Otago and Southland cases maybe going to Christchurch. It doesn’t make sense.’’
The Minister of Justice, Andrew Little, needs to hear a clear message from the people and the iwi of Taranaki, that this new situation is ‘‘distasteful, unfair, culturally insensitive and untenable’’, he said. He was also concerned that young dentists in Taranaki wouldn’t have the opportunity to train.
The MOJ spokesman said while the Ministry didn’t manage the odontology contract, this was a service used by the Police and the Coroner to identify a body if it was required. And though odontology is not a part of the new contracts, the resulting changes to processes were still bedding in, he said. ‘‘The Ministry is continuing its work to clarify with stakeholders in this area the processes in place to identify deceased and ensure that families are not adversely affected.’’