Housekeepers and other staff have been startled to walk into unrefrigerated rooms and find deceased covered up, said Lou Burri, president of CUPE Local 4000.
"In the beginning of December, it was pretty cold in Ottawa, so they would leave the doors open to keep the room refrigerated. Makeshift refrigeration, if you like, " said Burri.Capacity concerns at Ottawa morgue leads to bodies being stored in unexpected placesThe morgue capacity issues at the Ottawa Hospital's Civic campus were first reported to the union at the beginning of December and were soon followed by reports of similar problems at the General campus.
"The Ottawa Hospital has converted spaces, formerly used for autopsies, within the morgue to manage unexpected surges in demand. Conference rooms and ward beds are not used for housing deceased individuals." Deceased may need "to be taken care of in temporary spaces that respect the requirements for dignity and procedure" when "capacity at these morgues is reached," it said.When asked why the morgues are over capacity, and where the temporary spaces are located, the hospital did not respond directly.
"In Ontario, the hospitals themselves were never built to hold a lot of bodies ... And we worry a little bit about what's being done, and how the bodies are being cared for," said Miller, who also sits on an advisory committee for the Bereavement Authority of Ontario, which regulates licensed funeral establishments.
He also said most large funeral homes have morgue facilities where hospitals could store bodies awaiting autopsy.
Ottawa It’s bad enough my mother died there, but at least she wasn’t left in the hallway. That’s just devastating to the families 💔💔💔👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼👎🏼