Job Objective/Purpose
To provide safe, dignified, and compliant mortuary services by receiving, documenting, preserving, and preparing bodies for viewing/release, supporting post-mortem processes where required, maintaining mortuary hygiene and cold-room integrity, and ensuring strict adherence to infection prevention and control (IPC), legal/chain-of-custody requirements, and hospital policies and procedures.
Key Responsibilities
Receipt, Identification, Storage & Chain of Custody
- Receive bodies from wards, casualty, external facilities, police, and the public, ensuring respectful handling and adherence to standard mortuary procedures.
- Confirm identity details (tags/labels, accompanying documentation) and correctly label the body and storage location to maintain traceability.
- Place bodies appropriately in cold storage, ensuring correct positioning, labeling, and preservation measures as per SOPs.
- Maintain and update mortuary registers (receipt, movements, and release) and ensure all required documentation is complete before any release.
- Identify and escalate medico-legal cases and ensure controlled access and chain-of-custody requirements are maintained for such cases.
Post-mortem and Related Processes
- Assist in post-mortem processes as assigned (e.g., preparing the post-mortem area, ensuring instruments/equipment readiness, safe handling and movement of bodies) and ensure bodies are appropriately cleaned/prepared and returned to cold storage or released as per documentation and instructions.
- Prepare bodies for viewing and/or release in accordance with SOPs and cultural sensitivity, including washing, dressing, shrouding/wrapping, and basic presentation (including embalming where required and when appropriately trained/authorized) following approved protocols, safety standards, and documentation requirements.
- Release bodies only to authorized relatives/ representatives/ police after verifying identity, legal authorization, and completeness of documentation.
- Provide courteous, calm, and professional support to bereaved families, maintaining confidentiality, dignity, and respect at all times and guide families/representatives on mortuary processes, timelines, and requirements in line with hospital policy.
Infection Prevention & Control (IPC), Cleanliness & Safety
- Maintain a clean mortuary environment through routine cleaning, disinfection, and decontamination, while adhering to strict safety and hygiene protocols when handling hazardous substances, including PPE use, spill response, and segregation/ disposal of biohazard waste (including sharps) per policy.
- Monitor and record cold-room temperatures (and any other required parameters) as per SOPs and escalate deviations promptly to protect preservation and service continuity.
- Ensure mortuary equipment (trolleys, stretchers, cold-room racks, PPE, cleaning materials) is serviceable and safely used; report faults for timely repair.
Financial Stewardship, Billing Integrity and Resource Utilization
- Deliver unit financial performance through cost control and resource optimization without compromising care quality.
- Ensure timely and accurate billing, charge capture, documentation to support billing, and reduction of revenue leakage; monitor variances and address root causes.
- Support inventory control for mortuary consumables (mortuary sheets, disinfectants, PPE, tags/labels), including reorder alerts and expiry checks.
Professional Conduct & Other Duties
- Maintain a courteous, compassionate, and professional approach while preserving privacy, dignity, and confidentiality; Manage anxious or difficult patients calmly, escalating where necessary for support.
- Participate in handovers, departmental meetings, mentorship, and training of students/new staff as assigned.
- Ensure that Avenue Healthcare corporate governance policies are adhered to, including preventing, detecting, and reporting any fraud or criminal activities, and Implementing audit recommendations.
- Ensure adequate knowledge of and compliance to all Avenue Healthcare policies, procedures, and systems, especially policies pertaining to the provision of medical services i.e. Admission & discharge, equipment and supplies, emergency protocols, etc.
- Perform any other related responsibilities as may be assigned by the supervisor from time to time.
Person Specification
- Diploma in Mortuary Science, Mortuary Management, or related training
- A valid Mortician Kenya Health Professional Oversight Authority license
- 2 years’ Experience working in a hospital mortuary or funeral services environment
- Knowledge of biosafety and specimen handling requirements.
- Integrity
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Result Oriented
- Customer focus
- Reliable
