Huge backlog of 10 900 post-mortems in Gauteng

22 March 2022

I am most concerned by the huge backlog of 10 900 post-mortems as revealed today by Gauteng Health MEC Nomathemba Mokgethe in an oral reply to my questions in the Gauteng Legislature.

According to Mokgethe, a post-mortem can take between 60 to 90 minutes, while reports can take between four and six weeks per case.

The problem, however, is that the completion of many final reports takes far longer, causing great distress to families who need closure on the cause of death.

Police investigations and insurance payouts are also delayed by the backlog of reports. I have dealt with cases where families suffer because their insurance will not pay without the evidence of the post-mortem report.

The post-mortems are done at 11 state mortuaries in Gauteng and are required for all unnatural deaths.

Much of the delay in the final reports is because 2308 reports require the results of biochemical blood and toxicology tests at the Forensic Chemical Laboratories which are run by the National Health Department.

The Democratic Alliance will continue to push for the elimination of all bottlenecks that delay the post-mortem reports.

Issued by Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Health, 22 March 2022