Sod turned for $70M New Amsterdam Hospital mortuary  

The Ministry of Public Health on Monday held a simple sod-turning ceremony for the construction of the first of its kind public mortuary at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

The $70M project will be the first public mortuary that will have a chapel for funeral services, a gallery to viewing post mortem examinations and a freezer.

The 3000 square feet building is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence said that the current mortuary is not conducive for proper working conditions.

“The people of Upper East Berbice Corentyne have suffered long enough, having taken the reins of the Ministry of Public Health, we have been faced over these two-plus years with several issues regarding the present place that is being used within the hospital,” the Minister said.

The construction of the mortuary will also cater for a section to deal with infectious diseases and persons with a disability.

“This mortuary will be catering for a section that will be dealing with infectious cases, that is a big plus for the staff who will be working here,” the Minister said.

The Minister urged that the staff for the mortuary get on board as early as possible to be trained in Georgetown.

The News Room had reported in January this year that the current mortuary at New Amsterdam had to be shut down because it was not functioning, resulting in bodies being left to rot.