Health Minister Daniel Cummings has issued a strict directive prohibiting funeral homes and their representatives from conducting business, advertising, or soliciting patients on hospital grounds.
In an interview with SVGTV News, Minister Cummings raised serious concerns regarding funeral homes operating on hospital premises, stressing that funeral arrangements are not part of hospital healthcare services.
He announced a policy of zero tolerance regarding solicitation inside medical facilities, reinforcing that hospitals, clinics, and polyclinics exist solely to treat and care for the living.
Under the enforced policy, no member of the health ministry or hospital staff across any public health facility is permitted to work for, collaborate with, or act as an agent for a funeral home.
Describing financial arrangements between healthcare workers and funeral homes as a major breach of professional ethics, Cummings issued a firm warning to funeral agencies against attempting to use hospital personnel to promote their services to patients.
The directive also bars funeral home staff from advertising inside medical facilities or approaching hospitalized patients regarding burial arrangements, emphasizing that such discussions belong strictly to patients’ families outside the hospital environment.
