High crime rate to blame for Hillbrow mortuary backlog, says MEC
Gauteng Health and Wellness MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has named the high crime rate as one of the contributing factors to the backlog at the Hillbrow mortuary.
Nkomo-Ralehoko has assigned a task team to assist with the post-mortem backlog following complaints by families.
The delays in autopsy results have left hundreds of families unable to bury their loved ones.
While the MEC admitted that a shortage of pathologists is also a factor, she said the Hillbrow mortuary receives an unusual number of bodies of people who died from unnatural causes.
"The average time from admission to examination nationally is 72 hours. However, this excludes exceptional cases that require advanced investigations. Such cases include those of multiple gunshots, anaesthetic deaths, death in police custody, police killings, murder-rape cases and suspected poisoning.
"These are some of the things that result in delays in the issuing of bodies to families," Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
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