Police forced to transport bodies of crash victims
Police have been forced to cram the bodies of crash victims into the back of their van and drive them to the morgue themselves.
This as a staff go-slow at the State’s Medico-Legal Mortuary Services enters its third week.
Multiple sources have told Newswatch that the bodies of five people who were killed in a horror collision on Queen Nandi Drive yesterday morning had to be loaded into the back of a police van because an MLM vehicle was not available.
The DA's spokesperson on Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Imraan Keeka claims mortuary staff have resolved not to collect more than two bodies a day.
"They've agreed as part of their go-slow to only pick up two bodies per day. Some 60 bodies had piled up as of yesterday, and they have also agreed to only do two post-mortems per day in each of the mortuaries that are on the go-slow," he said.
Keeka believes the dignity of the dead is being impaired. He says the families of the deceased, who want to bury their loved ones according their religious customs, also endure prolonged suffering.
The provincial Department of Health’s spokesperson, Ncumisa Mafunda says her offices are extremely concerned.
Mafunda says the department has activated a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of the go-slow.
She says mortal remains are transported between facilities and processed accordingly.
Mafunda says they are doing their level best to ensure that operations at the affected facilities return to normal.
Issues around back-paying the forensic pathology officers and upscaling their pay-grades are believed to be at the root of the staff’s unhappiness.
Multiple sources have told Newswatch that the bodies of five people who were killed in a horror collision on Queen Nandi Drive yesterday morning had to be loaded into the back of a police van because an MLM vehicle was not available.
The DA's spokesperson on Health in KwaZulu-Natal, Imraan Keeka claims mortuary staff have resolved not to collect more than two bodies a day.
"They've agreed as part of their go-slow to only pick up two bodies per day. Some 60 bodies had piled up as of yesterday, and they have also agreed to only do two post-mortems per day in each of the mortuaries that are on the go-slow," he said.
Keeka believes the dignity of the dead is being impaired. He says the families of the deceased, who want to bury their loved ones according their religious customs, also endure prolonged suffering.
The provincial Department of Health’s spokesperson, Ncumisa Mafunda says her offices are extremely concerned.
Mafunda says the department has activated a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of the go-slow.
She says mortal remains are transported between facilities and processed accordingly.
Mafunda says they are doing their level best to ensure that operations at the affected facilities return to normal.
Issues around back-paying the forensic pathology officers and upscaling their pay-grades are believed to be at the root of the staff’s unhappiness.