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Interventions to avert crisis at FS Government Mortuary
The Free State Department of Health is responding as humanly and dignified as possible to the handling of bodies that are due to be processed through the Government Mortuary, the Department's spokesperson, Mondli Mvambi, said, following the Department of Employment and Labour's closure of the Mortuary till further notice for violating the Occupational Health Safety Act.
The Free State Department of Health this afternoon confirmed that the Government mortuary has processed all the bodies that were due for autopsies before a prohibition notice was issued by the Department of Labour on 18 October
The Department said arrangements have been made for the bodies that need to be dissected now whilst the prohibition notice is in effect, to be taken to the Welkom Mortuary where they will be dissected.
These bodies will be received from hospitals, accident scenes and private undertakers and stored in transit inside the fridges of the Forensic Pathology Truck that is stationed at the Free State Government Mortuary, Mvambi said.
The Forensic Pathology Truck has the capacity to store more than 12 bodies overnight and these bodies will be transported to the Welkom Mortuary by Forensic Pathology Officers and returned the same day to the families through the private undertakers that are contracted by families of these bodies., Mvambi added.
“There is no crisis in Mangaung since the issuing of the prohibitive notice on 18 October as families that needed to get the bodies of their next of kin were given their bodies after the autopsies were conducted,” Mvambi assured the public.
Hei further confirmed that a contractor is on site to attend to all defects in electrical installations. He said they have already identified that the air-condition/HVAC system and the electrical network were vandalized, and the mortuary lost tonnes of copper as a result of this vandalism.
Blocked sewer pipes that were causing an unpleasant smell are being attended to by Plumbing Services, whilst the Department of Public Works is helping with the toilets, he said.
Mobile airconditioners were also made available and are being installed to address the ventilation and extraction problems.
Furthermore structural engineers conducted an assessment and unblocked the drainage system, Mvambi said, adding that the waste fridge is to be replaced and quotations have already been sourced.
“The Department of Health remains committed to ensuring that all other issues that were raised are fully and satisfactorily attended to. The Department can already state that in terms of its records, 18 officials had undergone medical surveillance during the period of 1 -13 September,” Mvambi said.
He said the work of the Department will continue including a general good upkeep, hygiene, maintenance, waste management and infection prevention control measures as well as the availability of required PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).
“The Department of Health is also attending to the psychosocial needs of its Forensic Pathology Officers. The Department places on record that it has never refused such a need but considered the alternative provision of this service against the pressing financial obligations of the demands within an unfavourable financial environment of rising commodity prices fuelled by the ever rising cost of production,” Mvambi concluded.
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