Marina mortuary workers� struggle pays off
Tefo Pheage | Thursday February 11, 2016 16:20
Among other issues raised, the workers said there is a shortage of staff at the mortuary. They further complained that they have as a result been forced to employ a one man one corpse system as the hospital does not have mortuary-lifting machines. Moreover the frustrated mortuary workers had told Malefo that mortuary working conditions are frustrating and mentally disturbing as they encounter pepertual fridge and temperature thermometers malfunctions.
In response to Mmegi questions over whether the situation has been rectified since the complaints were raised, the hospital public relations officer, Donnel Kutlapye, said a lot has been done since.
Kutlapye said the hospital has bought two mortuary-lifting machines which are currently fully functional, further adding that the machines were procured three years back. The ministry’s top officials back then had promised that the issue would be addressed immediately.
On the issue of uniform and protective wear, Kutlapye said mortuary employees are availed protective clothing and are issued with such every two years. The workers had complained that they are forced to work in their personal clothes.
He revealed that the issues which led to the decomposition of bodies have also been looked into and addressed “by the establishment of a mechanical team on site which fixes any job that needs to be attended to”. Kutlapye said: “In addition to that, if it happens that we have a breakdown in our morgue, we engage the private sector. We have not had any decomposed body since 2012.”
Kutlapye however said the issue of counselling has not been addressed. “We have not provided our mortuary employees with counselling as a group, but we do have a psychiatrist, psychologist and social workers in the hospital who provide counselling to any of our staff who needs it.”
The workers had complained that they are not provided with counselling as they often treat corpses they knew by relation and association.
The workers had asked for a psycho therapy person who would provide therapeatic lessons to them on a regular basis and look into their psycho needs and challenges as and when they arise. They argued that their work is very sensitive, traumatising and psychologically demanding.
The hospital spokesperson revealed that the hospital has six employees but has two porters per shift from an outsourced company. The mortuary workers had also complained that the it takes a lot of time to address their grievances, further adding that the hospital leadership can take months without visiting them at the mortuary.