Freetown, Sierra Leone — The Management of Connaught Hospital, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, has announced the temporary closure of the Connaught Hospital Mortuary for comprehensive renovations and structural upgrades.
The closure will take effect on Monday, July 21, 2025, and is expected to last for six weeks.
The decision is part of a broader national initiative to modernize mortuary services and improve the standard of post-mortem care in the country. For decades, the Connaught mortuary has served as the nation’s principal facility, but aging infrastructure and outdated equipment have hindered effective service delivery.
“The mortuary is currently running on cold storage equipment that has reached the end of its useful life,” the hospital management stated in a public notice. “Despite continued maintenance efforts, repeated mechanical failures have made its continued use unsustainable.”
Minister of Health, Dr. Austin Demby, emphasized the importance of the renovation as part of long-overdue reforms in mortuary care.
“We are at a turning point,” Dr. Demby said. “We have acquired 10 brand new mortuary refrigerators to be installed in key hospitals across the country, including Connaught. However, it is not feasible to place such sensitive, high-performance equipment in structurally compromised facilities with electrical systems that are nearly 50 years old. The good news is that we have mobilized resources to rehabilitate the Connaught mortuary, and work will begin immediately.”
To mitigate the impact of the temporary closure, the Ministry has made alternative arrangements with several public health facilities, including the 34 Military Hospital, the Jui (Chinese) Hospital, and the Police Hospital. These centers will handle the temporary preservation and processing of both civil and medico-legal corpses.
During the renovation, Connaught Hospital will continue to offer embalming services exclusively for in-hospital deaths, with families allowed a maximum two-day period to collect the bodies of their loved ones.
“This renovation is about restoring dignity to our health care system—both for the deceased and for grieving families,” Dr. Demby added. “It’s also a critical step in our broader strategy to modernize health infrastructure nationwide.”
Once completed, the refurbished mortuary will feature modern cold rooms, improved electrical and plumbing systems, and enhanced amenities to better serve bereaved families and medical professionals alike.
