Several families in Limpopo say they’ve recently found the remains of loved ones decomposing at two government hospitals.  

One patient who asked not be named because he’s a regular at Elim Hospital in the Vhembe District, says he saw the poor conditions in the morgue first-hand when his mother died in August. 

“My mother was a regular patient at the hospital for kidney dialysis. When she passed on we were informed by the hospital. But when we went there the following day, we found her lying on the hospital mortuary floor among several decomposing human bodies,” he tells Health-e News.

“The smell was unbearable in the mortuary. Everything was dead inside, no electricity, no water, just decomposing human bodies.”

According to Jeffrey Khosa, chairperson of Waterval-Hlanganani Development Forum, the issues at the Elim Hospital’s morgue have been consistent since 2013. 

Jennifer Baloyi* says after being informed that her teenage son had died at Elim Hospital in August, she immediately called for a private mortuary.

“Because I had already heard of the broken hospital mortuary with its decaying machinery, I knew then that there was no place for my son there.” 

Takalani Mulovhedzi, provincial spokesperson for Progressive Civic Congress says they have received complaints about the state of the mortuary at Elim Hospital.

“People have even gone on radio stations to share that Elim Hospital mortuary smells bad. They say fridges are not working properly,” she explains.

Matlala Hospital in Sekhukhune district

At Matlala Hospital in Sekhukhune district, rumblings about poor mortuary services are also heard. 

A family at Makgatle village outside Marble Hall is still in shock after a relative was found in his hospital bed, a day after his death. 

“In October we received a call from Matlala Hospital informing us that our uncle had passed away in the afternoon. The following day, we found him in a body bag but still on the same bed in the ward with bewildered patients. I questioned the situation and one of the nurses told us the mortuary was experiencing breakdowns.

“She said it had become common these days for the mortuary to stop working because of no regular maintenance. Fortunately, our private mortuary didn’t take long to fetch him,” says Maseipati Maku. 

Limpopo Department of Health responds

Despite the numerous complaints, the provincial health department denies the problems are widespread.

“The forensic unit at Elim Hospital has been having challenges with the chiller plant but now it is fixed. All facilities with mortuaries are functioning optimally,” spokesperson Neil Shikwambana says.

“Hospital mortuaries are meant to be transitory points where family-arranged undertakers collect the bodies of people who passed on in hospitals.”

Shikwamba denies patients who passed on at Elim and Matlala Hospitals are left on their beds as they wait for private undertakers.

“Bodies are put in seclusion areas while waiting for the family to collect them into the care of their undertakers,” he adds.

The department urges community members and structures that can’t get meetings with health facilities management to turn to governance structures such as hospital boards for seamless communication. – Health-e News 

*Not her real name