Tembisa Hospital To Get Biometric System To Identify Bodies

A digital fingerprint system that uses biometric technology to identify the bodies of unknown people in mortuaries will be rolled out at the Tembisa Hospital in eastern Johannesburg today.

The Gauteng government launched the system last year. It is linked to the databases of the Home Affairs Department and the National Credit Bureau for quick fingerprint verification.

The system is expected to help families to identify the bodies of their loved ones.

Provincial Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba says, The department is today taking another significant step in addressing the challenge of unidentified bodies and unknown patients at our provincial health care facilities including at our mortuaries through the forensic pathology services , we are rolling out this system at the hospital. The system would be demonstrated today at Tembisa as part of training the staff for them to be able to make use of the particular system.