Locals complain over ill-equipped Arua hospital morgue

Residents and leaders of Arua City have decried the poor  state of the Arua Regional Referral Hospital mortuary.
The mortuary has on  refrigerators  and faces a shortage of chemicals to preserve bodies,  among  other challenges. 

Due to the poor state of the facility, some bodies are taken to Nebbi hospital, about 76 kilometres away.
“We had to pay fuel expenses of Shs120,000 for an ambulance  to transport [our loved one’s] body to Nebbi hospital for preservation since the deceased’s relatives stay abroad,” Mr Robert Acidri, a resident of Mvara Ward in Arua Central Division, told Daily Monitor on Wednesday.

Mr Acidri said they also had to part with Shs100,000 per day for mortuary services. “We had to spend about Shs600,000 for the six days that the body was kept at Nebbi hospital. The management of Arua hospital should lobby for funds to construct a modern mortuary so that people get services faster because it has become costly for families to manage both funeral and mortuary costs,” he said.

Mr Jackson Atima, the Arua Central Division MP, promised to lobby for the funds.

He said the crisis should be handled expeditiously because of the growing population in Arua City.
Mr Geoffrey Feta, his Ayivu East Division counterpart, said a fully-functional mortuary will save residents from paying exorbitant fees.

“People die from here (Arua hospital) and bodies are taken to Nebbi. How can a regional referral hospital continue to operate in such circumstances? We need to bridge this gap by having a modern mortuary to help our people,” he said.

The Arua hospital director, Dr Filbert Nyeko,  acknowledged the problem, but called for prioritisation.
 “About 95 per cent of the bodies are taken home by their relatives. Do we build a mortuary or a house for children and our mothers who are sleeping in corridors because we still need a mortuary? If the mortuary is the first on the agenda, we shall put it there,” he said.

Some mortuary necessities

· Refrigerators and chemicals for preserving bodies.
·Stainless steel postmortem tables or heavy-duty trestle tables covered with plastic sheeting. Wheeled trolleys for transporting bodies within the mortuary
· Trestle tables and chairs for administrative areas. Wall charts to record progress, or large poster boards if there are no walls
·  Tarpaulin or plastic sheeting for the floor, if it is not made of concrete. Heavy-gauge black plastic sheeting for temporary screens
. Refuse bins, bags, cleaning materials.