By KASONDE KASONDE? –

GOVERNMENT has engaged the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) in installing a mortuary unit at Mumbwa District Hospital which has been operating without the facility for more than a year.
This came to light when Special Assistant to the President for Project Implementation and Monitoring Lucky Mulusa toured the hospital.
Mr Mulusa said ZAF would in the next few days send over a mortuary unit to Mumbwa that would be installed.??Mumbwa District Hospital medical officer in-charge Muyereka Nyendwa said the hospital had had no mortuary unit and bodies were taken to the district community clinic which had a small morgue.
Dr Nyendwa said the mortuary unit at the Hospital which was now not operational had inadequate capacity to store the bodies which at times ended up decomposing.
He said technicians from the provincial medical office had gone to the hospital to check on the condition of the mortuary but could not rectify the problem.
He said the hospital had resorted to be taking the bodies to the district community clinic which had a capacity of four bodies, thereby inconveniencing the residents who at times were forced to bury their loved ones the same day they died.
“The hospital has been operating without a mortuary unit for over a year now which has led to people at times burying their loved ones on the same day that they pass on which has not been fair to the residents”, Dr Nyendwa said.
Dr Nyendwa appealed to the Government to also address other challenges at the hospital among them the mothers’ shelter which had taken too long to be completed.??Mr Mulusa assured the people of Mumbwa that Government was aware of the challenges that people in the area were facing and they were being addressed.