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The Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspections and Enforcement Services has closed down a Government mortuary in Bloemfontein, Free State. The closure of the facility emanates from a reactive inspection conducted by the department’s inspectorate in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The Department conducted a complaint triggered inspection at the facility on Friday, 18 October 2024. The inspectors found water leakages which could cause serious harm and fatalities to workers should they come into contact with exposed electrical wires. For these reasons, the Forensic Pathology Services (Department of Health) was issued with a prohibition Notice.
The employer was further issued with three additional notices for:
- Failure to ensure proper ventilation system in the post mortem room and risking exposure to Bioaerosols;
- Failure to identify and mitigate against various hazards associated with pathological services;
- Sewage blockage resulting from post mortem discharge.
Provincial Chief Inspector Manelisi Luxande says, “the depth and magnitude of Occupational Health and Safety Act violation necessitated the four prohibition notices issued. The inspectorate would not gamble with the health and safety of employees including the public”.
The facility will remain closed until the Department of Health adequately implements corrective measures to the OHS findings as determined by the inspectors.
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