Son demands answers after mother’s body decomposes in mortuary
The Department of Health has investigated allegations that Witbank Hospital’s refrigeration units were out of order.
Jaco van Wyngaard (54) is struggling to process the news that his mother, Babs Niemann’s (84), body decomposed before she could be laid to rest with dignity. Van Wyngaard’s eyes become cloudy when he sees his mother’s belongings in the small apartment where he took care of her for months.
Instead of beautiful memories, the words of the undertaker sticks in his mind. “We will have to cremate your mom. We cannot arrange a viewing for she is already decomposing,” he said when they arrived at the Witbank Hospital mortuary on 7 September.
Van Wyngaard had to let the family know in a hurry that no viewing could take place.
Babs fell four months ago and has struggled to walk since June. After her health declined, she was admitted to Witbank Hospital on 22 August. “Mum was very sick and didn’t eat at all. She was terribly weak and lay in the casualty department with a drip. Later that night they sent her home,” he said.
Van Wyngaard said he had difficulty arranging transport and informed the nursing staff that he did not have a wheelchair for her at home. “I struggled to get mum into the house when she was discharged. The hospital did insert a catheter and gave her some adult diapers.”
Van Wyngaard had to bathe his mom, change her diapers and feed her. “It was really difficult. My mother was completely dependent on me.”
A week later, Babs became so weak that she could barely speak and did not recognize anyone. She was again taken to the Witbank Hospital where, according to Jaco, she was left in the casualty department because apparently there were no hospital beds available.
On September 1, she was transferred to Santa Hospital, where she died on September 3. Her body was then taken back to Witbank Hospital where she was placed in this hospital’s mortuary. Van Wyngaard claims that the cooling refrigerator in which his mom was placed was set at 27°C. “I’m so thankful that the undertaker went in first and stopped me from seeing her. She had already started to decompose and smelled very bad. It’s something I can’t get out of my head.”
The undertaker confirmed that the decomposition process had already started with Babs when they picked up her body at Witbank Hospital.
Inquiries about the incident have been sent to the Department of Health for comment.
Dumisane Malamula, Head of Communications, said the department was not aware of any incident where the mortuary’s cooling units were operating at 27°C during the relevant period. “The temperatures of the morgue’s refrigeration units are monitored twice daily as part of the facility’s routine temperature monitoring processes,” he explained.
According to the department, there were no reports that the morgue’s cooling units were out of order between September 3 and 7. The department’s investigation also found that there was no technical fault or cooling failure reported during the relevant period.
“The department takes complaints regarding mortuary services seriously and remains committed to ensuring that appropriate procedures are followed in the management and care of the deceased,” said Malamula.