Mortuary attendants in Kisumu on go-slow over low pay

Mortuary attendants at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu are on a go-slow over poor working conditions and low pay. FILE PHOTO | ANITA CHEPKOECH | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The morticians claim their work has been affected by the ongoing doctors' strike.
  • They also say the condition they work in is deplorable.

Some services at various hospitals in Kisumu have been paralysed after mortuary attendants started a go-slow over low pay and poor working conditions.

The morticians claim their work has been affected by the ongoing doctors' strike. They say most of the bodies brought to the facilities needed to be operated on by a doctor.

“We have received several bodies that needed post-mortem but we cannot handle them because a doctor has to be present,” said Jeremiah Ombegi of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital.

Mr Ombegi said they are forced to release bodies before the cause of the death is established because families cannot wait until the doctors' strike ends to bury their loved ones.

“Initially, we retained the bodies because we thought the strike would not take this long. But [now] we are forced to release them, which is against the law," said Mr Ombegi.

Geoffrey Baraza, one of the attendants at the referral hospital, said their working conditions are deplorable. They don't have protective clothing for work procedures, he said.

“We need protective clothing such as water repellent gowns, gloves and surgical masks to put on when handling bodies,” said Mr Baraza.

When the Nation visited the mortuary, only Mr Ombegi and casual workers were on duty.