admin
Goromonzi district health officials have appealed to Government for financial assistance to build a new and larger mortuary at Makumbi Hospital, as the present one can handle only three bodies at a time.
Makumbi Hospital, located in Domboshava, on the north-eastern border of Harare, serves about 500 000 people.
Goromonzi District health services administrator Evelyne Runodada told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Care, that visited Makumbi Hospital, that there was a serious challenge of accommodating bodies in the mortuary when they exceed the carrying capacity.
“We double the bodies per tray. And at times we put them down on the floor and we communicate with the relatives about our situation and ask them to quickly come and take the bodies.
“For those bodies brought in by the police, some of them take time without being collected and that poses a challenge. Some of them will never be collected and going through the process of pauper’s burial is lengthy. At times we ask the police to take the bodies to Parirenyatwa Hospital.
“In our district, this is the only mortuary. So we do not have anywhere else to refer our bodies. We end up taking them for the sake of humanity.”
Ms Runodada said efforts to get funding to build a bigger mortuary had not materialised.
“We have been trying to lobby for funds to construct a new mortuary. We would like it to be a 12-bodied mortuary. So we have been applying for public sector investment project funds. We are still submitting our request for a mortuary,” she said. — New Ziana
Online Reporter