The Ministry of Health says it will continue discussions with the privately operated Suva Funeral Directors over concerns about morgue overcrowding.
However, the company has strongly denied there has ever been a shortage of storage space or that families have been turned away.
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa confirmed that the Suva morgue is operated by Suva Funeral Directors under an agreement with the Ministry of Health.
The concerns come after the late Permanent Secretary for Health and Medical Services, Dr Jemesa Tudravu, highlighted the issue last year, saying overcrowded morgues were not only a challenge in the Western Division but were also affecting Suva.
Dr Tudravu said the problem was often caused by a spike in deaths, delays by families in organising burials and technical issues affecting morgue facilities.
Suva Funeral Directors owner Deevan Prasad has rejected the claims and said that the Assistant Minister's comments are incorrect.
Prasad says the facility can accommodate up to 78 bodies and normally has about 30 bodies at any given time, meaning there is always sufficient space available.
He says the Suva morgue also caters for Oceania Hospital and has never experienced overcrowding since it began operating in 2012.
According to Prasad, the only time the morgue exceeded its capacity was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when refrigerated containers were brought in to manage the increased number of deaths.
He says families have never been told to take the bodies of their loved ones elsewhere because there was no room at the facility.
Prasad also says delays by families in collecting bodies have never resulted in the morgue reaching capacity.
He says the Suva morgue is the largest in Fiji, serving communities from Navua through Suva to Nausori.
Prasad adds that he was shocked to hear the claims and believes they are false, adding that no family has ever been turned away due to a lack of storage space and that suggestions otherwise unfairly damage his company's reputation.
