Report ‘body snatchers’ says Health Department
Victims of funeral parlour scams are urged to report their experiences to the KZN Department of Health
AFTER the Zululand Observer’s exposure of seemingly rogue funeral parlours taking advantage of those grieving the loss of a loved one, the provincial Department of Health (DoH) has urged those affected to report any wrongdoing to hospital management and the police.
‘When someone dies in a health facility, the department follows strict procedures,’ said Sam Mkhwanazi, KZN Department of Health spokesperson.
This after reports that K and M Funeral Services in Empangeni successfully removed a body from Ngwelezana Hospital without the correct paperwork.
Protocol
According to DoH protocol, a body cannot be removed from a hospital without a burial order.
This, along with a death certificate, must be obtained from Home Affairs on presentation of a death notification signed by a doctor.
It is at this stage that the procedure appeared to have broken down at Ngwelezana Hospital, when K and M Funeral Services was reportedly given the go ahead to remove the body of an Empangeni man prior to the man’s partner obtaining a burial order.
Under condition of anonymity, the Empangeni woman who reported this incident said the funeral parlour removed her partner’s body with only a security-stamped form containing his finger prints.
‘At the hospital gate, the relatives will produce the burial order and gate pass signed by the funeral parlour and the mortuary before they are allowed out with the mortal remains,’ said Mkhwanazi.
The Ngwelezana Hospital Manger referred our questions to the DoH.
Preying on the vulnerable
The article enraged local community members, who said there are many scams targeting vulnerable people.
‘We need to be educated about the correct procedures of arranging a funeral because most of us do not consider this until it happens and at the time you are not in a good state of mind,’ said one reader.
While membership of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) is not compulsory, the practise of funeral parlours distributing business cards at hospitals is unethical, according to Louis Fourie of AVBOB in Richards Bay, which is registered with the NFDA both locally and internationally.
In 2009 the NFDA looked into regulating the funeral industry, to discourage unethical and fly-by-night funeral parlours, but nothing materialised.
This leaves unethical parlours free to continue preying on the vulnerable and charging huge amounts to release a body without arranging a funeral.
‘It really is up to the deceased’s family members to report such unethical behaviour to the Department of Health and the NFDA,’ said Fourie.
All attempts to contact K and M Funeral Services failed.
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