Patients' horror after sharing ward with dead body for eight hours in Migori

The body of a man was kept in a hospital ward for eight hours due to lack of a mortuary.

The patient was taken to Rongo Sub-County Hospital on Thursday evening and died around midnight. His body lay in the hospital bed until 4pm the following day.

This caused panic among caretakers as well as patients in the ward.

“We were not at ease in this room where the person died. My cousin was visibly shaken and traumatised because the body was in the bed immediately next to his,” said Peter Owino.

The hospital’s Medical Officer, Ruwa Mwatelah, attributed the situation to the lack of a national government mortuary nearby and the logistics involved in transferring bodies from the wards.

Mr Mwatelah said there was only one mortuary in the entire county - at Migori Referral Hospital, which is kilometres away. He said the fact that the deceased’s relatives could not be identified or notified worsened the situation.

two ambulances

“We always release bodies to any mortuary when there are family members involved. The ministry is yet to create a room in the hospital where we can store the dead so as to prevent fear and trauma for those still being treated, said Mwatelah.

He also said only two ambulances were operational in Migori and Uriri, which forced healthcare providers like Rongo Level Four Hospital to ask for ambulance services from nearby facilities such as Royal Nursing Home and Rongo University, which only provided them when they were available.

The situation is the same in Awendo where the hospital relies on Rapcom Mortuary, a private facility, for morgue services.

BUILDING PLANS

County Health Executive Joseph Nyamita said plans were underway to build a mortuary in Awendo and Rongo.

“These things need planning as they involve logistics and finances but we are thinking of something, however small,” he said, adding that the incident in Rongo was “bad”.

Four years since the health function was devolved, the Migori Health Department continues to struggle with specialised personnel, lack of basic facilities, theft of drugs and lack of equipment.