Deteriorating conditions at the state mortuary in Bloemfontein has led to a shutdown following a prohibition notice issued by the Department of Labour on Friday, 18 October.
Bodies of deceased people in Mangaung now have to be driven to the mortuary in Welkom for autopsies.
Mondli Mvambi, spokesperson for the Free State Department of Health, said on Tuesday that there was no crisis at the mortuary. He said interventions were being made by the department.
This follows a statement by the Public Servants Association (PSA) expressing extreme concern about deteriorating working conditions and failure by the Department of Health to comply with health and safety regulations at the mortuary.
According to PSA spokesperson Aubrey Nappie, this includes critical issues like unhygenic conditions, malfunctioning fridges and blocked drains, which has caused body fluids and blood to leak into the basement of the building, causing a foul odour.
“This is creating a severe health hazard. Several drains and dissecting tables are obstructed, preventing proper cleaning, and worsening unsanitary conditions. Showers used by employees for hygiene after dissections are non-operational, compromising their ability to maintain basic cleanliness.”
Nappie further said that malfunctioning ventilation and autopsy rooms lacking proper ventilation, with no windows for fresh air circulation, make the work environment unbearable.
Mvambi explained that bodies from hospitals, accident scenes and private undertakers will be stored in transit inside the fridges of the forensic pathology truck that is stationed at the Free State Government Mortuary.
“The Forensic Pathology Truck has the capacity to store more than 12 bodies overnight, and these bodies will be transported to the Welkom mortuary and returned the same day.”
Valerie de Kock, FF Plus council member, said they were thankful that the safety of the workers were being protected, but the fact that the mortuary first had to be closed shows that the ANC government did not take the community seriously.
“We have often warned about the deteriorating circumstances at the state mortuary. Now it is the families of deceased that is affected and have to travel long distances to use other facilities. This is a service that tax payers fund to help family members in times of loss. Now it is another hindernis in the already sad process.”
Mvambi said families that needed to get the bodies of their next of kin were given the bodies after the autopsies were conducted.
He said some of the issues being attended to are electrical compliance, blocked sewer pipes, ventilation and extraction, structural safety and the waste fridgte that need to be replaced.
