Opposition Spokesperson on Health and Wellness, Dr Alfred Dawes, is urging the ministry to reassess its decision to entrust the storage of bodies from Kingston Public Hospital to the Spanish Town-based Archer’s Funeral Home.

Dawes, in a statement on Tuesday (April 16), criticised a clear conflict of interest arising out of the ownership of the funeral home, which is led by CEO Michael Archer, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Red Hills division in St Catherine.

To make matters muddier, Dawes expressed concern over Archer’s presumed fealty to Tufton as Member of Parliament for West Central St Catherine, the constituency in which the division is administered.

“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,” he said.

Dawse’s call follows several individuals taking to social media to raise concerns regarding the cancellation of contracts with established funeral homes to an exclusive agreement with Archer’s Funeral Home.

He said the storage facilities at St Catherine were previously shared among three funeral homes; Robert’s, Morgan’s, and Archer’s. However, contracts with Robert’s and Morgan’s were rescinded, consolidating operations solely with Archer’s.

He added that 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,” he added.

The shadow minister says he anticipates a response from the health ministry on the award of the contracts to Archer’s Funeral Home.

“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.”