THE Ministry of Health has again complained that many people show no haste to collect their dead for burial and the present mortuary cannot cope.
It appears that the situation is particularly acute at weekends, when the facilities are over-strained as chillers can take just 11 bodies at any one time. It is not uncommon for the staff to contend with 15 bodies or more. The fact that the churches no longer hold burials on Sundays has further exacerbated the problem.
The Ministry has now increased rates and beyond three days, relatives will have to fork out R1,000 daily.
But, we wonder whether that will solve the problem. Most Seychellois have relatives abroad and keeping the dead waiting for loved ones to arrive is an important reason for the overload.
With a rapidly growing population, we need a bigger and more modern mortuary to cope with more deaths. After all, we have a bigger maternity, a bigger prison etc... So why not a bigger mortuary?
We understand and sympathise with the staff who have the unpleasant task of rotating bodies when the chillers are overloaded. Such hard-working people surely deserve to be financially rewarded as they are doing a job that few will envy, in very difficult circumstances. We hope that some money from the increased fees will go towards upgrading the pay of these hard working individuals.
The Ministry of Health should get its priorities correct. The present mortuary is as old as anyone can remember and during that time, we have seen a huge clinic go up at English River, which must have cost tens of millions of rupees but with an assortment of old furniture inside. Sure, the English River clinic helps ease the strain on Victoria Hospital. But did it have to be that huge and lavish?
Some districts are promised new clinics at election time and afterwards, everything is forgotten. Beau Vallon is a case in point.