Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Mbabane Government Hospital Mortuary has been closed indefinitely.
This is due to the freezer compressor not functioning and it requires replacement. According to sources, the mortuary was closed four days ago. The closure of the mortuary affects the conducting of post-mortems, among other procedures.
Of note, is that there were around 10 unclaimed bodies, which were kept in the mortuary, when it was closed. The Communications Officer in the Ministry of Health, Nsindiso Tsabedze, said they were aware that the mortuary was not operating as confirmed by the senior management of the hospital. Tsabedze stated that as a result of the non-functional mortuary, the hospital had stopped receiving bodies.
When asked what the arrangement with post-mortems was, Tsabedze said that was not an issue, because the hospital had stopped receiving bodies. He said the hospital had also removed unclaimed bodies which were taken to a temporary storage facility. Sought for clarity on why the hospital had failed to conduct paupers’ funerals for the unclaimed bodies as Dignity For All, a non-profit organisation which had committed to decently carry out burials, Tsabedze mentioned that preparations for burial were underway.
Collaboration
He said plans were being done in collaboration with the Mbabane Municipality Council and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. Furthermore, he said the ministry was also in discussion with Dignity For All, to guide on procedures for proper management of paupers and their burials.
Dignity For All Chairperson Themba Makhanya said it was true that they were engaging with government to conduct paupers’ funerals for the unclaimed bodies. Makhanya said they were also working with government to put in place structures that would assist in minimising paupers in the future. This, he said, included registration of foreigners upon admissions in the government hospitals, across the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
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