Mortuary attendants in the Koforidua the Eastern regional capital are not happy with the poor state of mortuaries in public hospitals.
The morticians have been sharing despicable and risky health conditions under which they work and the poor remuneration they receive.
Derrick Seidu, a Senior mortician at St.Joseph Hospital has been working as a mortuary attendant for about 10 years but says the condition of mortuaries in public hospitals including St.Joseph Hospital continues to deteriorate.
The capacity of the St. Joseph Hospital mortuary is about 450 but with only three mortuary attendants. However, one of the cold rooms is dysfunctional hence the hospital for about 2 years now operates under capacity admitting only persons who die at the hospital.
“The cold room facility got damaged 2 years ago but it has not been fixed. So we are unable to accept dead bodies outside the hospital. So when the police want to bring dead bodies here I tell them it is full we can’t accept them”.
According to the mortuary workers even detergents, protective materials and chemicals sanitation and effective preservation of dead bodies are always unavailable.
They also bemoaned the poor working condition and lack of risk allowance to compensate them for the work they do at the expense of their health.
Derrick Seidu, a Senior mortuary attendant tells Bryt News, that he has to sometimes be told part of his meagre salary to buy detergents and weedicides to keep the environment clean as well as formalin to ensure bodies at the morgue do not decompose.
Derrick Seidu says government and hospital management have neglected mortuary facilities and workers therein leaving mortuary facilities in despair.
He appealed to the government to take a second look at the condition of service of morticians and the mortuary facilities for renovation.
The Mortuary workers fear that, if the situation does not improve, many people will be discouraged to work as mortuary workers in the coming future.
Source: Mybrytnewsroom.com/Obed Ansah
