Two leading facilities of the Free State Department of Health – the government mortuary in Bloemfontein and the National District Hospital – remain closed for public use.
The provincial Department of Employment and Labour has confirmed prohibition is still in effect at both facilities while the Department of Health is having repairs done to meet compliance.
The closure of the mortuary followed a reactive inspection conducted by the Department of Labour’s inspectorate in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This was done on 18 October after complaints regarding hazards at the facility flagged non-compliance. The inspectors found water leakages posing a serious health hazard and accompanying risks to workers, should they come into contact with exposed electrical wires.
Following the findings of deteriorating conditions at the state mortuary, the Department of Health’s Forensic Pathology Services was issued with prohibition, flagging the following:
- failure to ensure proper ventilation in the postmortem room and risking exposure to bioaerosols;
- failure to identify and mitigate various hazards associated with pathological services; and
- sewage blockage resulting from postmortem discharge.
The Department of Health has been given time to improve the conditions.
The hospital, on the other hand, remains closed for use after a fire gutted parts of the facility on 7 July. The fire damaged three areas of the hospital: ward 3, for paediatrics; ward 5, classified as a mixed ward; and ward 7, for male patients. The patients who were in these wards at the time of the fire were all rescued.
