Backlog of almost 11,000 postmortem reports in Gauteng: province 'working on it'

The Gauteng health department on Tuesday said it was working hard to decrease the postmortem report backlog, now at  10,900. Of those, 2,308 are at the forensic chemistry laboratories and the rest are at forensic pathology laboratories.

The department said the filling of all funded posts as and when they become vacant is prioritised to ensure that facilities have enough people to carry out the work.

It said there has also been a motivation for the review of the staff numbers and organigram to bolster the existing staff complement to cater for the ever-increasing Gauteng population and service demands.

The department said the turnaround times for conducting and producing a postmortem report vary case by case, because of  the complex nature of the work, which involves various role players, and the nature of each case.

“On average, a postmortem takes 60-90 minutes to be conducted, while reports can take between four to six weeks per case. This is because investigations take place in various divisions.”

It said the biochemistry tests for blood and toxicology are conducted at forensic chemistry laboratories, whereas the postmortem is conducted at forensic pathology laboratories.

“Different circumstances in these divisions determine the time it takes to complete a report.”

The department said the nature of each case plays a part in turnaround times.

“For instance, a single stab wound report may take shorter to complete than a multiple gunshot report. Multiple gunshot wounds, which are prevalent in some areas of the province, contribute immensely to backlogs.”

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