JAMAICA | Moving storage of bodies from KPH to Private Funeral Home Smacks of Opportunism says Dr. Alfred Dawes

KINGSTON, Jamaica. April 16, 2024: Shadow Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Alfred Dawes, has urged the Ministry of Health and Wellness to reassess the decision to entrust the storage of bodies from Kingston Public Hospital to the Spanish Town-based Archer’s Funeral Home.

In a statement today, Dr. Dawes said “this reconsideration is prompted by the undue inconvenience and financial strain placed on grieving relatives, compelling them to retrieve their loved ones' remains from the establishment located in Spanish Town, diverging from the decades-long practice of a Kingston-based location.”

“Numerous individuals have taken to social media to articulate their concerns regarding the cancellation of contracts with established funeral homes, which previously served multiple hospitals, in favour of exclusive agreements with the recently incorporated Archer’s Funeral Home.

"Let us for a minute forget that Archers’ Funeral Home is owned by a JLP councillor in the constituency represented by the Minister of Health. Let us ignore the fact that this is no ordinary councillor, but one who was handpicked by the Minister of Health to replace another sitting JLP councillor amid much uproar in the constituency.

“Instead, envisage the anguish of witnessing a loved one suffering in their final moments, and then instead of being allowed to come to terms with their deaths, you are further burdened with the logistics of relocating their remains from all the way in Spanish Town due to a decision favouring a ‘special’ funeral home."

Previously, the storage facilities at St. Catherine were shared among three funeral homes—Robert’s, Morgan’s, and Archer’s. However, contracts with Robert’s and Morgan’s were rescinded, consolidating operations solely with Archer’s. Similarly, the storage arrangements at Kingston Public Hospital, previously managed by Jones’ Funeral Home on North Street, were also redirected to Archer’s. The storage facility at University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) has reportedly also been transitioned to Archer’s.

Adding salt to the wound, forensic autopsies in Western Jamaica are exclusively conducted at Archer's, resulting in an average post-mortem delay of three to four months.

Bodies must undergo transportation across the island, often under police escort. The rapid rise of Archer's, just five years after its incorporation at the Companies Office of Jamaica, has sparked concern among longstanding industry stakeholders, who fear that their government contracts could be the next to be relinquished.

"I anticipate that the response of the MOHW will be that the process to award the contract to Archer’s Funeral Home was ‘above board.’ However, it was a wicked and uncaring lot that decided that little to no weight would be placed on the ability of grieving relatives to conveniently and affordably retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.”

It is evident that the needs of users within the public health system are consistently relegated beneath other considerations in the allocation of contracts within the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

The People's National Party (PNP) stands in solidarity with bereaved families, advocating for their right to mourn without enduring additional financial burdens and logistical hurdles during their time of grief.

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