Patients forced to sleep next to a corpse for 8 hours in Kenya

Patients forced to sleep next to a corpse for 8 hours in Kenya

Patients of a Hospital in Rongo sub-county, Kenya were horrified after they had to sleep next to a corpse for eight hours. After the patient who was brought into the hospital critically ill died around midnight on Thursday, his corpse was not removed until the next day.by 4:00pm.

His relatives couldn't be identified and this made matters worse. Speaking to Standard News, the patients and families recounted their fears throughout the night;

“We were not at ease in this room where the person died. My cousin was visibly shaken and traumatized because the body was in the bed immediately next to his,” Peter Owino, a relative to one of the patients said The hospital administration has blamed the lack of National mortuaries in the area for the ordeal. According to the hospital's Medical Officer, Mwatelah, had only one mortuary in the entire county and just two functioning ambulances “We always release bodies to any mortuary when there are family members involved. The ministry is yet to create a room in the hospital where we can store the dead so as to prevent fear and trauma for those still being treated,"said Mwatelah