Isiolo morgue faces operational constraints amid refrigerator breakdown
Police and other government officers will during the time be forced to redirect the bodies to other counties such as Meru and Laikipia.
A day after a letter advising members of the public that the Isiolo Referral Hospital morgue would not receive bodies from outside the facility, the health department has come out to clarify the issue, distancing itself from part of the letter that indicated the facility had been closed down.
Health officials led by Deputy Governor James Lowasa who is also the County Health Executive Thursday assured residents that the mortuary was operational though limitedly due to the breakdown of three refrigerators.
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The morgue has four refrigerators, all with a capacity of preserving 12 bodies, and is the only mortuary in the entire county.
The facility has in the last month been under scrutiny following complaints from the public that they were being asked to pick up the bodies of their loved ones a day after dropping them there, incurring the extra expense of redirecting the bodies elsewhere or burying them at the local public cemetery in Kambi ya Juu.
Dr. Lowasa said due to the limited capacity, the mortuary will only receive bodies from the Referral Hospital as a stopgap measure before the issue is rectified.
Police and other government officers will during the time be forced to redirect the bodies to other counties such as Meru and Laikipia with the former said to be also grappling with a pile-up of bodies from neighbouring counties.
"The mortuary is working though limitedly. We are working on ensuring the machines which have broken down are repaired in a month," he said, assuring that a tender for the work will be awarded by March 8 so that the repairs start immediately.
The majority of the bodies brought to the morgue from outside, he said, were decomposed, and that insecurity and accident victims contributed to the surge in the number of bodies that are stored.
Lowasa asked members of the public to collect the 11 unclaimed bodies lying at the mortuary within 21 days saying the county would apply to dispose of them after the lapse of the window.
He was accompanied by Medical Services Chief Officer Abdirahman Ibrahim, Isiolo Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Hussein Mohammud and the hospital's administrator among other health officials.
The Deputy Governor revealed the administration's plan to expand the morgue in future to accommodate the large number of bodies.
This was a section of residents who faulted the idea of repairing the machines, wondering why the county could not purchase new refrigerators.
"Where do the billions (allocated to health) go if we cannot purchase new fridges and build a bigger morgue?" posed Safia Mohammud, advising the county to employ an expert who would repair the machines whenever they break down.
It remains unclear why despite advertising for the work in October last year, no company was picked, only for the county to readvertize earlier this month.
Sources intimated to Eastleigh Voice that disciplinary action would be taken against the staff who prepared the controversial letter, a development which has irked the health officials and top county leadership.
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