The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) has issued a notice for the disposal of unclaimed bodies lying at the hospital’s mortuary.
According to a notice released to the press, Dr. George Rae, the Chief Executive Officer of JOOTRH has urged the members of the public who lost their relatives to visit the morgue to help identify the bodies.
Dr. Rae stated that the facility has stretched its capacity with most bodies overstaying and lying unclaimed for over six months.
“We have released a list of the unclaimed bodies, indicating the exact place of death and date, and the cause, though most of them are undetermined,” Dr Rae said.
Most bodies preserved at the facility were collected from different places in the county by police officers while a few passed on while undergoing treatment in the hospital’s wards.
Notably, Dr Rae revealed that out of the 32 unclaimed bodies, two are women. The women have been positively identified as Helida Oyoko who died on March 18, 2022, and Rosebell Aoko Omori who passed away on January 25, 2022 both at the casualty wing.
Stephen Osolo passed away while undergoing treatment in ward 7 and succumbed on January 27, 2022.
Seven other men who all died at the hospital’s casualty wing on varying dates between June to October 2021 are among those listed as unclaimed bodies.
The CEO further revealed that three out of the four unidentified bodies succumbed and the cause of death established as drowning was brought in from Maseno area.
The notice also documented other dates of multiple bodies to have been recovered in 2021 from Kisumu East, Kisumu Central, Seme and Nyando Sub-Counties.
In order to address the morgue capacity issue, the hospital’s old mortuary has been renovated to the tune of Sh. 5 million. The facelift has seen the replacement of the asbestos roof, the floor redone, the refrigerators replaced and fresh coat of paint given.
The morgue’s leadership is stewarded by Dr Sava Solomon, a pathologist, Superintendent Richard Moracha and five other technical members who are tasked with the day-to-day operations.
Significantly, the hospital is at the advanced stage of completing a new ultra-modern funeral home to better serve the Western region of Kenya and further help in easing congestion.
By Rolex Omondi
