Isiolo Teaching and Referral Hospital morgue is struggling with an upsurge in the number of unclaimed bodies at the facility.
The county health department has already made an application in court seeking orders to dispose the 32 bodies that have piled up in the past four months.
The county government continues to incur the expense of preserving the decomposing bodies as locals raise concern over foul smell and flies emanating from the mortuary with a capacity of storing only 16 corpses.
Twelve of the bodies are for infants who died either during or after delivery at the Referral Hospital’s maternity ward while five belong to unknown persons and were taken to the morgue between August and October this year.
The Public Health department has already issued 21-day ultimatum for the bereaved families to pick bodies of their loved ones in efforts to decongest the four cold rooms (fringes).
It is feared that the hospital may soon start turning away families taking bodies of their loved ones for preservation should the Isiolo court fail to grant disposal orders.
Bodies should not be kept at public mortuaries for more than 10 days according to Public Health Act Cap 242 Public Mortuaries rules.
Among the submissions made in court are a letter by the Referral Hospital Medical Superintendent Hussein Mohamud lamenting of the pathetic state of the morgue due to presence of flies.
“…There is foul smell coming from the decomposing bodies and presence of flies,” the letter dated October 29 reads in part.
The court will give further directions on November 18 when the matter will be mentioned.
