More than 1,000 unidentified bodies lying in Gauteng mortuaries

Close to 1,200 unidentified bodies lay in Gauteng's state mortuaries last year, with more than 100 identified bodies having been buried as paupers because they had not been claimed.

Also, cases of “serious adverse events” (SAEs) in Gauteng public hospitals had risen from 4,170 in 2019 to 4,701. SAEs are events arising from the health-care environment and which may affect the medical outcome on a patient by either lengthening their stay in hospital or further complicating their condition.

The figures were revealed by Gauteng health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethi in response to questions in the Gauteng legislature last week.

According to the statistics, Gauteng state mortuaries had 1,173 unidentified bodies last year, and a further 120 bodies that were identified but were buried as paupers as they were unclaimed.

When it came to SAEs, Mokgethi said Tembisa Hospital was the worst affected, with 1,226 SAEs last year.

Mokgethi said an SAE is defined as an event that results in an unintended harm to the patient by an act of commission or omission, rather than by the underlying disease or condition of the patient.

George Mukhari Hospital had 1,022 cases, Chris Hani Baragwanath 883, Kalafong 850, Weskoppies 74, Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg had 632, Thelle Mogoerane 380, Mamelodi 362, Sebokeng 324, Helen Joseph 319, Leratong 258 and Jubilee had 204.

The MEC told the legislature that the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital had the best record, with not a single SAE in 2019 and only two in 2020.

DA MPL Jack Bloom said the 747 SAEs at Weskoppies mental hospital were of concern as there was no surgery at the hospital.

“Tembisa’s number of adverse events highlights the poor judgment in choosing it as a Covid-19 treatment centre. This was a finding of the medical ombudsman when he investigated Shonisani Lethole’s death at this hospital,” Bloom said.

According to Mokgethi, there is an increase every year in dead bodies handled by Gauteng Forensic Pathology Services. Last year there were 18,324 bodies stored in the 11 state mortuaries in Gauteng, compared to 17,940 in 2019.

According to Mokgethi, the Germiston mortuary had 400 unidentified bodies last year, followed by the Johannesburg mortuary (169), Diepkloof (103), Sebokeng (131) and Pretoria (117).

“This is probably because of the economic hardship of the pandemic lockdowns, so families were unable to afford to bury their loved ones, which is very sad. I am disappointed that the internet identification site that was first promised in 2006 is still not running,” Bloom said.

Mokgethi said the department of e-governance had started to hand over an internet identification system, and it is being evaluated and tested.

“I hope it is implemented soon as it will help relatives in identifying bodies by using the internet rather than traumatic and time-consuming visits to mortuaries,” Bloom said.

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