The temporary mortuary that has been built in Ruislip as London faces a growing Covid-19 death toll is about to open in Ruislip.
It took a little over a week to build the facility which is located near Breakspear Crematorium. The Ruislip site has reportedly cost £3.2 million so far with that figure expected to reach £4M.
At the start of the pandemic, four temporary mortuaries were built in London, Ruislip’ mortuary is one of the largest.
So far, over 10,500 people have died from Covid-19 in London since the start of the pandemic with Sadiq Khan, declaring a major incident last week.
The new mortuary in Ruislip is one of a number of temporary mortuaries that have been constructed to cope with the overflow of bodies that is being caused by covid-19.
Westminster City Council chief executive Stuart Love, was asked whether he thought the temporary mortuary could reach full capacity, he said: “We really hope it doesn’t come to that.
“From my point of view, we have built this really hoping it doesn’t get used to its capacity.
“This really is a visual, sobering reminder that we are still in the midst of a severe pandemic. We want to give people hope but we are not there yet.
“This just re-emphasises the message of staying at home and looking after your loved ones.”
Mr Love added: “As the number of deaths have increased, particularly since Christmas Eve, we made the decision to build temporary capacity with the overriding principle of ensuring the dignity and respect for the bereaved and the deceased are maintained.
“It’s really important that people have confidence that bodies are being treated with respect.
“As mortuary capacity needs increase so do the risks around various elements of the system in storing the deceased.”
