Sort out the mortuaries strike now

The death of a loved one is one of the most difficult occasions for all of us. Being able to bury our loved ones with dignity and timeously is the first and most important step towards acceptance of the loss and healing.

Many families across Gauteng are having to bear the double pain of losing their loved ones and of being unable to retrieve their bodies for that final send off.

The impasse between the provincial department of health and the forensic pathology officers who are on strike demanding better pay and allowances is imposing immeasurable hardship on families.

Like the Life Esidimeni tragedy which preceded it, this is another harsh reminder of how failures of governance affect the lives of ordinary people in very tangible ways.

The forensic pathology officers have the right to demand better working conditions. It is unfortunate though that the exercise of their rights is infringing on the wellbeing of thousands of bereaved families.

The details of the strike present glaring failures of leadership in the province and has unearthed the deepening crisis in the province’s mortuaries.

Not only is there a dire shortage of qualified forensic pathologists but the burden of performing postmortems has been falling on forensic pathology officers who are not qualified to do the work.

Forensic pathologists, are required to be qualified medical doctors, forensic pathology officers are not. They are not qualified to undertake these postmortem procedures. Therefore, it goes without saying that the postmortems undertaken by forensic pathology officers are invalid.

The consequences are serious. It is not only families who rely on the results of postmortems to gain insight into the death of their loved ones but the criminal justice system as well. The outcome of cases could be nullified on the basis of invalid postmortems.

Instead of proactively addressing the growing problem, the department has allowed the situation to reach a crisis point.

Many families are faced with growing costs owing to the postponement of funerals. These are costs in both time and money.

Where is the caring government that puts the people first – Batho Pele?