Mortuaries empowered to reduce misidentifications of deceased bodies

Department of Health 2024/04/08 - 22:00



​Gauteng Health Communications


In an effort to eliminate the growing number of misidentifications of deceased bodies at mortuaries which result in exhumations, the  Gauteng Forensic Pathology Service (FPS) recently held a Body Release Management workshop. 

The workshop comes as a result of non-compliance with the legislated prescripts, poor identification of bodies who did not die within health facilities, failure to exhaust all the processes including verification of fingerprints and commencement of possible litigations related to exhumations and swapped bodies. 

Thembalethu Mpahlaza, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of  the Gauteng Forensic Medical Services said that the aim of the workshop is to address challenges experienced by families, concerns and complaints received by Quality Assurance from service recipients about management of human remains across government mortuaries in Gauteng. 

"These challenges entail the removal of a wrong body and families burying a wrong body, which can be due to the similarity of body numbers. The purpose the workshop was to identify challenges and come up with a standard operating procedure (SOPs). 

"This will improve the service we render to the public, enhance collaboration with other state organs and establish a memorandum of understanding with embassy offices. It will also assist in capacitating hospitals and result in the training of stakeholders and personnel in taking fingerprints, provision of 24 hours service for release of bodies, have the availability of South African Police Service liaison officers at our institutions and availability of PPE for stakeholders," said Mpahlaza.

The much needed intervention which was held on Thursday, 04 April 2024 at Thelle Mogoerane Hospital was attended by a number of stakeholders inclusive of hospital CEOs, Quality Assurance managers, hospital mortuary managers, the South African Police Service, Departments of Home Affairs and Social Development, and private funeral parlour associations. 

Topics addressed included the legislation that guides all stakeholders, specific SOPs that guide hospital mortuaries and FPS facilities and further training needs. 

In addition, the workshop resolved to establish mortuary forums, standardised turnround times for handing over of bodies, centralisation of unknown patients and unknown deceased and provision for transportation of hospital bodies by the FPS.

"We are also going to create an awareness campaign for families who refuse for bodies of their loved ones to be taken for autopsies and have resolved to ensure the establishment of Home Affairs signature database of doctors who issue notification of death documents to curb fraudulent BI163, as well as request Home Affairs to expand services to make provision for death registration in health facilities," he said. 


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