The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday said as many as 30 bodies had been “piled up” at a mortuary in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, because staff at the Forensic Pathology Unit have downed tools again.
DA KZN spokesperson on health, Imran Keeka, said mortuary staff who are willing to help bereaved families are at risk of their colleagues wrath and “will also end up in the cold room”.
Burials are being delayed because postmortems are not being performed.
“The grievances of mortuary staff are not new yet it is clear that KZN Health MEC, Sibongiseni Dhlomo does not regard them as urgent. This despite ongoing interruptions to this critical service,” Keeka said.
The DA member said last week mortuary staff called for an urgent meeting with senior KZN Health officials, but Keeka said they “did not bother to arrive”.
“Their absence, in the face of a looming crisis, must be explained by the MEC who must also provide answers for his own lack of action in this regard. Grieving families, who have spoken to the DA on the basis of anonymity, have made clear their anger at the MEC and his department. More importantly, they have expressed how they are suffering while waiting to find closure, especially at this time of the year,” Keeka said.
“While the MEC has been quick to previously claim to be of assistance by doing post mortems himself the question that must be asked is – where is he now? Clearly he can’t be trusted to resolve any of the numerous crises within his own department.”
The DA said it has written to the chairperson of KZN’s health portfolio committee, Yusuf Bhamjee, to request that he commission a full report into what is going on in the province’s forensic pathology sector.
“We expect this to be presented at the next meeting of the committee. In the interim, we sincerely hope that this action will lead to an immediate improvement in services so that the rights of those who are deceased are no longer violated and so that they can be laid to rest immediately in accordance with their rights and rituals,” said Keeka.
“It is unacceptable what citizens are having to endure under Dhlomo’s regime and it is ultimately KZN Premier Willies Mchunu who must be held accountable for leaving a failed MEC at the helm of such an important service delivery department.”
However, spokesperson from the health department, Ncumisa Mafunda, said there were still discussions going on between the employee and an employer.
“I can confirm that the workers have gone back to work after yesterday’s meeting, so everything is back to normal,” said Mafunda.
– African News Agency (ANA
