Mengo Hospital signs mortuary deal

By David Ssempijja

A Public Private Partnership arrangement seeking to boost healthcare delivery systems has kicked off with private investors taking on the responsibility of equipping and managing mortuaries, a move expected to relieve hospitals of that intricate task.

The Funeral Management arm of A-Plus Group has started the process of managing mortuaries with Mengo Hospital after the firm reached an agreement with management to let the company modernise and manage the day to day services of the mortuary.

According the A-Plus Group Chairman Mike K. Sebalu, the mortuary services at hospitals the firm is partnering with will be up-scaled to include other modern services like; advanced storage of bodies, embalmment, postmortems, dressing, caskets, and international repatriations among other funeral survives.

Consequently, the face lifted mortuary has been named Mengo Funeral Palour/Home, also boosted with other funeral homes services like grounds for vigils, making it the first of its kind in the country.

“We need to uplift these services to match with those found in other developed economies; this facility is a one stop 24 hour centre where we handle services at a professional level to create convenience to the bereaved families and offer more jobs to the public,” Sebalu said in a speech read by the company managing director Ronald Zaake at the launch of the home last week.

He pledged that the service models will be spread across the country and revealed that the firm is currently in advance talks with St. Anthony’s Hospital in Tororo to serve the Eastern Axis and Lacor Hospital for Northern region as other health facilities are also prepared to come on board.

The chairman Board of Directors Mengo Hospital Richard Kiboneka noted that the partnership creates room for the concentration of hospital staff efforts towards saving lives as A-Plus handles the after-death roles.

Body storage services at the facility go for sh30, 000 for the first day and sh10, 000 per extra day and other services are charged depending on what a customer opts for.

Speaking during the Group’s appreciation cocktail hosted at the company premises as Nsambya, the Executive Director for the Insurance Institute of Uganda Geoffrey Kihuguru lauded the firm for partnering with insurance companies to tailor products to deal with funeral management and allowing a saving scheme under the family-care service slot.