Shock rise in mortuary blunders

The remains of unborn babies have been thrown away or cremated against their parents’ wishes in a shocking catalogue of mortuary blunders.

The results of a Sunday Post investigation are a shameful indictment of the treatment of the dead in NHS mortuaries.

In just one shocking example, a mix-up saw an unborn child dumped alongside “clinical waste”.

And in other cases organs have been lost or kept by hospitals, in a chilling echo of the Alder Hey scandal.

They are among a series of disturbing “serious untoward incidents” reported to the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), which was set up in the wake of the scandal.

The log of all incidents was released to The Sunday Post following a Freedom of Information request.

Other cases in England and Wales in 2013 include:

A family denied a last chance to see their relative because the body was so badly decomposed after a delay in a post-mortem examination. This happened because staff were on holiday.

The accidental removal of organs without consent from the dead person’s family.

A dozen wrong bodies being released to undertakers for burial.

More than 30 cases of “accidental damage” to bodies.

The number of shocking incidents has jumped by nearly 50% since 2012 from 60 to 87 sparking calls by senior politicians for more Government action to protect the dignity of the dead.

Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed, pictured, said: “At a time of great sadness and grief, for a family to be put through this indignity is simply unacceptable. What is worse is that despite repeated warnings, things are getting worse and not better.

“Last year, the Government said this was unacceptable, but have clearly done nothing to improve the situation. When a family suffers the loss of a loved one, they should feel confident that their relative will be treated with the utmost respect.”

In one tragic accident, a corpse decomposed because it was stored “long term” in a fridge rather than a freezer at Cumberland Infirmary.

At the University Hospital of North Durham the remains of an unborn baby were kept when they should have been disposed.

The 31 disturbing cases of accidental damage to bodies included a patient of an “unusual size” whose body was damaged during transfer to a mortuary trolley at a hospital in York. Another, at a mortuary in Harrogate, was caused by a piece of furniture toppling over.

An unborn baby was cremated against the wishes of its family at Chesterfield Royal Hospital, while at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, a foetus was accidentally buried without the family’s consent. Shockingly, a body part was thrown away with a dead person’s clothing at the same hospital.

Mortuary staff at Salford Royal Hospital NHS foundation trust reported the decomposition of a body because of a delay in a post mortem examination. The delay was caused by “statutory holiday”. Tragically, by the time they had realised the error, it was too late for a final viewing by the family.

There were nine cases of organs being kept without the correct permission. Other cases involved theft from a hospital ward patient before they were transferred to the mortuary and trainee pathologists accidentally

damaging bodies.

There have also been three “serious security breaches” and two incidents of “major equipment failure”.

In response to our request, the HTA published a short description of each incident. However, a spokesman said it would not disclose full details because of the “adverse publicity” for the mortuaries which reported them.

Alan Clamp, HTA chief executive, said: “In 2013, 87 incidents were reported to us by NHS mortuaries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

“To put this in context, around 95,000 post-mortem examinations occur every year. There is no room for complacency, though. However rare, these incidents are deeply upsetting for family and friends of the deceased. We require all incidents to be investigated thoroughly and action taken. We recognise there has been an increase in the number of incidents reported to us and we will be monitoring this over the forthcoming months.”

The Department of Health did not wish to comment.

The Alder Hey scandal

In 2001 Alder Hey Hospital admitted it removed glands from the chests of living babies and sold them to a drugs firm.

The thymus glands were routinely taken out during heart surgery at the Liverpool kids’ hospital and sent for use in research. The scandal-hit hospital was already at the centre of a Government probe after it admitted stockpiling body parts of dead babies without parents’ consent. Bosses were forced to admit they received £5 for each gland from pharmaceutical companies. The thymus gland lies close to the heart and is part of the immune system. It is vital while a baby is in the womb, but gradually becomes redundant as the immune system develops.

The then Health Secretary Alan Milburn described the revelation as “deeply distressing”. Three months later The Retained Organs Commission was established and charged to oversee the return of organs to families where required. In 2004, the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) was set up to toughen regulations in the wake of Alder Hey.

Outcry over secret burials at Mortonhall

In December 2012, Scotland was thrust into a baby ashes scandal.

It emerged Edinburgh’s Mortonhall Crematorium had secretly buried babies’ ashes for decades. For nearly 50 years, the crematorium buried the ashes of babies, who were stillborn or had died when just days old, without informing their parents.

It was claimed parents were told there was no ashes available from such young children but it was later discovered that there had been and that workers had secretly been burying them in a garden of remembrance.

A month after the story broke, an inquiry into the scandal was launched with other Scottish councils, including Glasgow and Aberdeenshire, implicated.

Scotland’s former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini has led an independent inquiry into the Mortonhall scandal and is due to publish its findings within weeks. Bosses at Mortonhall have also bought a new £25,000 cremator to ensure it won’t be repeated.