Gatundu Level Five Hospital has asked the National Police Service (NPS) not to take anymore bodies to the facility’s mortuary.
In a letter seen by Nairobi News and addressed to the police, Dr Jesse Ngugi, who is the hospital’s Medical Superintended, said the hospital is experiencing serious capacity gaps in regards to preservation of bodies.
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Dr Ngugi said the capacity gaps are as a result of an increase in hospital workload, collapse of freezers and unavoidable delay in processing of disposal of unclaimed bodies.
“The above requires both systematic and operational interventions that the hospital management has embarked on. Meanwhile our current capacity remains constrained pending resolutions of the above challenges,” Dr Ngugi said, adding that they will not be in a position to receive bodies outside the usual hospital workloads.
Instead, he advised officers to be taking bodies to facilities such as General Kago Funeral Home or Thika Level Five Hospital mortuary until normal operations resume at the facility.
In February Nairobi City County Health Service disposed of 250 bodies that had remained unclaimed for prolonged periods in various county morgues.
At the time, County Executive for Health, Dr Anastasia Nyalita, said the unclaimed bodies were being preserved in the City Mortuary, Mbagathi Hospital Mortuary and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital mortuary.
