Mombasa to allow 7-day free stay of bodies at Coast General morgue, Governor Nassir says

This is among a raft of changes that the county leadership intends to enforce at all public healthcare facilities, especially the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Nassir has signed an Executive Order that will release all dead bodies at the CGTRH forthwith, free of charge.

After the release of all bodies, others will be allowed to be stored at the facility’s morgue for seven days free of charge.

“Starting tomorrow, whenever someone dies, because our Christian brothers do not bury their loved ones immediately, we will give you at least seven days for free at the mortuary so that the families organize themselves,” Nassir said on Sunday when he met a section of residents of Kwa Bullo, Kadzandani ward.

He said the more bodies stay at the morgue, the more they incur costs on their loved ones who remain behind.

He called on those who have bodies of their loved ones lying at the CGTRH mortuary to go and pick them up without paying any amount.

The facility has a capacity of 90 bodies, but recent reports indicate it is under immense pressure. Major upgrades are expected to expand the capacity.

The governor also expressed disappointment with reports that some of the morticians at the facility could be making deals using the bodies.

“I received a call with a very strange request that pricked my mind. Someone asked for a job at the mortuary. The guy had no training in that field, but his motivation was the deals that happened at the morgue. I was dumbfounded. When did we get to this?” he wondered.

He said the CGTRH and other public hospitals in Mombasa give critical services to Mombasa people and should not be treated as a money-minting place.

The governor also said the county will soon introduce digital ticketing at the CGTRH so that patients who visit the treatment facility enter their details at a ticketing booth, receive a ticket and wait for their turn to see the doctor.

This way, Nassir said, he will be able to know how many patients visit the facility each day, how long it takes them to see a doctor, and how long each patient spends with the doctor, among other key data that will help him make decisions about service delivery.

Nassir also said he will station specific officers in public hospitals to ensure patients get treatment.

The officers, he said, will be going round asking patients whether they have been treated and if not, why.

These measures follow controversies that hit the county following the death of a member of the Mvita NG-CDF staff on February 21 at the Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital.

The death led to the temporary suspension of the CGTRH CEO, Iqbal Khandwalla, to pave the way for investigations over possible culpability on his part.

Mvita MP Mohamed Machele raised concern, accusing the administrator of arrogance at the expense of human life.

However, on Friday, the CGTRH Board found no culpability or liability on Khandwalla’s part.

“The findings confirm that there was no personal act, omission, or negligence attributable to Dr Khandwalla in connection with the patient’s death. Therefore, his interdiction stands lifted forthwith,” a statement from the office of the county secretary and head of county public service read in part.