Bodies found in 'advanced deterioration' at under-fire trust

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Bodies found in 'advanced deterioration' at under-fire trustImage source, PA MediaImage caption, NUH, which runs the Queen's Medical Centre, said it was "truly sorry" for not meeting the standards expected of itByEleanor Lawrie & Michael BuchananSocial AffairsPublished21 minutes agoEight bodies have been found in a state of "advanced deterioration" in the mortuary of an NHS trust, after hospitals ran out of freezer space. An inspection of the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham by the regulator, the Human Tissue Authority, also found insufficient identity checks meant there was a risk of the wrong bodies being released to families. Mortuary care at the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS trust, which runs the QMC, was strongly criticised by independent review chair Donna Ockenden on Wednesday when she revealed hundreds of local families had experienced poor maternity care.

The trust said it was "truly sorry" for not meeting the standards expected of it. Separately, two men have been bailed after being arrested in connection with operating practices at the mortuary service. The arrests were made on suspicion of misconduct in a public office as part of Operation Perth, a police investigation which began in 2023 following failings that led to hundreds of babies dying or being injured.

The Details

Operation Perth discovered breaches of regulations of the Human Tissue Act in relation to the management and operating practices of the mortuary services. Image source, Jacob King/PA WireImage caption, The review chaired by Donna Ockenden found evidence of recurring examples of failure to protect the dignity of the deceasedProblems with after-death care came to light after the parents of Harriet Hawkins, who was stillborn at NUH in 2016, discovered her body had been allowed to decompose so badly that it had to be triple-bagged for her funeral. A subsequent investigation found 17 areas of concern and prompted an examination by the independent maternity review into the after-death care provided to 16 other babies and one mother.

They found that one early gestation baby had been disposed of as clinical waste, the wrong baby had been passed to funeral directors and a mother who died had deteriorated so badly that her family were advised not to see her prior to her funeral. "The Review found evidence of recurring examples of failure to protect the dignity of the deceased… including inadequate arrangements for undertaking paediatric post-mortems," Ockenden said in her report. The problems prompted the Human Tissue Authority (HTA), which regulates mortuary care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to examine the trust's services.

In an unannounced inspection, external it found three critical, six major and one minor shortfalls against its standards at the two hospitals run by the trust, the QMC and City Hospital. The HTA found lack of freezer space at both Nottingham hospitals meant some bodies had been put in a refrigerated area instead.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.