Siaya – Siaya County Government has announced plans to build a modern funeral parlor within the county referral hospital, aiming to improve health services and the working environment for healthcare workers. Walter Okello, the Chief Officer for Governance, made this announcement while receiving new cold storage facilities and post-mortem equipment for the hospital’s mortuary services.
According to Kenya News Agency, this development is part of the county’s commitment to enhancing healthcare services for its residents. The initiative was prompted by a visit to health facilities by Governor James Orengo, which revealed the lack of cold storage facilities in the county’s public mortuaries. “It is important to treat our dead with the decency that they deserve,” Okello stated, highlighting the necessity of a conducive work environment for health workers.
Dr. Evans Ogoti, the hospital superintendent, shared that the facility had received equipment capable of preserving 48 bodies, along with body lift trolleys, post-mortem kits, and an embalming set. He noted that the new equipment would enable the mortuary to offer enhanced body storage services, in addition to its current embalming services.
Morgue Superintendent Willys Ochieng echoed these sentiments, pointing out that the facility currently has a capacity of only 24 bodies. The new equipment will alleviate the workload of pathologists by enabling scientific embalming and eliminating the need for manual dissection methods.