KZN health committee says solid policy will solve issues
THE Kwazulu-natal portfolio committee on health says the issues at the Phoenix Mortuary were deeper than what meets the eye, and would require solid policy implementation to rectify.
Dignitaries conducted an oversight visit at the state facility following protests from employees and various stakeholders about the conditions.
Among the grievances listed were staff shortages, insufficient storage capacity, poor infrastructure, a lack of resources and unavailability of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The Sunday Tribune was furnished with images by employees of the facility showing dead bodies placed on the floor due to the overcrowding of corpses.
Nomakiiki Majola, chairperson of the health portfolio committee, said oversight was imperative, as it was an emergency that affected the communities.
“The presentation that I wanted entailed the capacity bureau,” Majola said.
“This includes infrastructure, human resources, the capacity of the mortuary as well as the policies available between the departments involved, and how they worked together.”
Majola said the resolution would be to adjourn for another convention with all stakeholders, political heads of health, the SAPS, the Department of Community Safety and Liaison, the Department of Labour and the ethekwini Municipality to unpack these issues accordingly.
“What we have identified when it comes to the issue of the community is that there is no representative when it comes to the mortuaries, so as the public representatives, we are here to come up with the policies.
“Each and every problem should be unlocked by the policy.
“The next meeting will be unlocking all the issues that have been highlighted to us,” she added.
She said that the reports she had received from the department were not fulfilling to her.
Majola added that they would check the schedule from the legislature for the date of the next meeting.
According to Dr Imraan Keeka the DA’S MPL and KZN Spokesperson on Education and Quality of Life, speaking on behalf of the party’s provincial spokesperson on Health, noted a backlog at the facility.
“What is very worrying is that of the 81 bodies currently here in the Phoenix mortuary for post-mortem, none of the people present here from the department or the facility were able to tell us when this would be done. Whilst bodies are piling up in this mortuary, there is no plan to reduce this number drastically and quickly,” Keeka said.
He further questioned the provincial leadership’s ability to govern.
“How, under the watch of MEC Nomagugu Simelane, did forensic pathology services at this mortuary and surroundings deteriorate to a point where the mortuary managers had to go begging, bowl in hand, to collect PPE from surrounding facilities? That is a problem. Clearly the MEC has a case to answer here for her complete lack of oversight,” he said.
Keeka claimed that she had no political will or demonstration of leadership to resolve the problem.
He further noted that while the SAPS were short staffed, investigating officers sat with large volumes of dockets, contributing to bottlenecks.
“It points to a police department without proper leadership and a minister who is feckless. What he’s still doing in the Cabinet is a mystery. He’s shown no leadership,” Keeka added.
Ntokozo Maphisa, spokesperson for the provincial Department of Health, said that last month a team of officials, including some from Head Office and ethekwini Districts conducted a walkabout at the mortuary, following the recent reports.