Morgues struggle as bodies pile up
State system put under tremendous pressure
THE BODY pile-up at state mortuaries is set to increase if festive season violence and traffic crashes are factored in and will continue to do so into the new year. Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo expressed concern at the rampant violence and the impact it has on the Health Department when speaking at a press briefing in Cape Town yesterday.
“Recently, 18 people were killed in the Marikana area in Philippi East, in a period of just one week. Reports show 20 people have died in Ocean View shootings since April, while five were killed in September in a period of just two weeks. By June, 22 females and children had been killed, and as recently as Monday, October 16, six people were killed by fire in Philippi East,” Mbombo said.
Asked about the coming festive season, Mbombo said homicides take much longer to handle.
“I would love to have the Minister of Police next to me to help quell the situation in our gang-ravaged areas. We can’t stop gang violence and motor vehicle accidents, but we can’t also not help. We can’t say our mortuaries are full. We have to help people whether they’re alive or not,” she said.
Health Department head Dr Beth Engelbrecht said a mobile storage fridge was available.
“We’ve not used it, because we decreased the waiting time for Muslim bodies to between 6 and 7 days. There is so much violence in the province and we are really hoping for the best,” she said.
Mbombo said a year-on-year comparison between 2016 and 2017 indicates an overall increase of 56.5% in gunshot fatalities. This figure rose from 306 in 2016 to 479 cases during a threemonth period in 2017.
“The workload of specialists in this area has increased in overall proportion of 25% during the last five years. The last three months have shown a spike of 12% month-on-month increase. These are just some of the statistics that are a manifestation of what is happening in our mortuaries,” she said.
To help avert the worst situation, Mbombo said they had called in the help of available retired pathologists, added an extra seven staffers and asked medical students for their help.
She said pathologists who have to testify in court thus putting a further burden on resources.
“These are all unnatural deaths that require autopsies to be performed to support the judicial system with medico-legal evidence.
“We currently have the Henri van Breda and the Jason Rohde court cases in which our staff are testifying.
“The essential mandate of forensic pathology services is to conduct medico-legal investigation into unnatural deaths in support of the justice system. Given that we cannot lower our standards, we have to ensure we provide quality care regardless of the service pressures we face,” Mbombo said.
The department and the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) met earlier this week to address the problem with Muslim burials.
Shaykh Riad Fataar, MJC chairman of the Muslim Cemetery, said: “I understand the morgue is backlogged and under significant strain due to the ongoing violence in this community. We understand and acknowledge this, but this has been a chronic problem for which the planning and resourcing have been inadequate,” he said.