A multi-ministry crackdown has forced the temporary closure of one of Barbados’ oldest funeral homes.
This action has left Government trying to remove 17 unclaimed bodies amid concerning allegations that residents were being affected by embalming chemicals.
In an emergency hearing at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Chief Justice The Most Honourable Leslie Haynes granted a High Court injunction sought by the Ministry of Health, effectively slamming the doors shut on the mortuary operations of Two Sons Funeral Home for the next six weeks.
Present at the hearing was Chief Medical Officer Dr The Most Honourable Kenneth George, Deputy Solicitor General Marsha Lougheed, and other high-ranking health officials. Representing the embattled funeral home was its managing director, Tisha Smith.
Located at Stadium Road, Bush Hall, St Michael, Two Sons has been a fixture on the island’s funeral landscape since 1979.
The Weekend Nation understands that the court action was triggered by long-standing, desperate complaints from some residents living in an apartment complex adjacent to the funeral home. The complex and the funeral home are owned by retired funeral director Lloyd Smith, who is also an attorney-at-law.
Residents have long protested that their living conditions have been rendered unbearable by the pungent, overpowering smell of formaldehyde, the highly toxic chemical used by morticians to halt the decay of and disinfect human remains.
When contacted for comment on Wednesday, the elder Smith said: “I don’t know what you are talking about.” (MB)
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