The relocation of corpses to other health facilities is not unique to the Western Division, says permanent secretary for Health and Medical Services Dr Jemesa Tudravu.
He acknowledged this was due to overcrowding, and confirmed it was also done in Suva when mortuaries were filled to capacity.
“There are various causes, at times it’s because there’s an increase in the number of deaths or relatives take time to take their family members out for burial,” Dr Tudravu said.
“There may be a break down or malfunctioning in the morgue units.”
Dr Tudravu said this was an ongoing process to ensure facilities were available when needed.
“If there’s an issue with availability, we allow them to take their deceased to other nearby facilities for safe keeping until it’s time to carry out their burial process,” he said.
“For example, they can bring them to Nadi or other facilities around the Western Division and we do the same thing in Suva, we have facilities for example in Wainibokasi, Mokani, so it’s a process that we go through when the morgue services are busy.”
He said the mortuaries in Lautoka and Suva were managed by private companies
“CWM (Colonial War Memorial Hospital) it’s a private company engaged by Government and in Lautoka it’s a private company managed by Aspen Medical,” he said.
“They go through their management process in terms of ensuring that there are spaces within and there’s access to relatives when they have a deceased family member.”
