The Ministry of Employment and Labor has closed a government mortuary in Bloemfontein until further notice for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

The ministry said it conducted the inspection last week after receiving a complaint about a number of issues at the facility.

Mortuary inspection

“Inspectors discovered water leaks that could cause serious injury or death to workers if they came into contact with exposed electrical wires. For these reasons, the forensic services (Ministry of Health) received a ban notice.

The Labor Ministry said the morgue received three additional notices for failure to ensure adequate ventilation system in the autopsy room and risk of exposure to bioaerosols.

“Failure to identify and mitigate various hazards associated with pathological services and sewage blockage resulting from post-mortem discharge. »

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Closed until further notice

Provincial chief inspector Manelisi Luxande said the problems are worrying.

“The scale and scale of the breach of the Health and Safety at Work (OHS) Act necessitated the issuance of four prohibition notices. The inspection would not compromise the health and safety of employees, including the public.”

“The facility will remain closed until the Department of Health adequately implements corrective actions to the OSH findings as determined by inspectors,” Luxande said.

The bodies pile up

Last month, the Portfolio Committee on Health revealed that more than 3 000 unclaimed bodies are piling up in forensic morgues across South Africa.

It was revealed that as of August this year, the country had 3,186 unclaimed people.

Unclaimed bodies were stored for periods ranging from five months to three years.

According to Regulation 341 on unclaimed bodies, families have up to 30 days to claim the body of their loved one.

Former Health Minister Joe Phaahla said earlier this year that an unidentified body had to be transferred to a freezer within seven days of admission.

Phaahla stressed that facilities housing unidentified bodies are required to collect and archive complete documentation, including a photograph, fingerprints and a blood or tissue sample.

Additional reporting by Enkosi Selane

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