Hospital mortuaries left bodies to decompose, inspectors find

hospital-mortuaries-left-bodies-to-decompose,-inspectors-find
Hospital mortuaries left bodies to decompose, inspectors find

Inspectors from the Human Tissue Authority have discovered that hospital mortuaries have allowed bodies of deceased patients to decompose due to a lack of freezers. A number of NHS trusts across England, including Leeds, Blackburn, London and Oxford have been highlighted, with Leeds General Infirmary reported as having kept corpses at unsuitable temperatures for over two months. The NHS trusts have since improved their systems, and two of the trusts have expanded their mortuaries.

Official guidelines require bodies to be stored in freezers after 30 days in refrigerated conditions, or before, depending on the condition of the body. However, a series of reports reveal the NHS was not always adhering to the rules – one incident at Leeds General Infirmary saw a body that had been released for burial by a coroner remaining in cold storage for 70 days without being moved into a freezer. Other findings highlight there was no cleaning schedule for the body store at Leeds, and a door from the visiting area to the staff office was not fitted with a lock allowing “potential access to the main mortuary” by non-staff members.

Inspectors also visited King’s College Hospital in London and found “critical” shortfalls in mortuary services, including mouldy conditions. In addition, several adult bodies “had been stored in excess of 30 days in the fridge units”, and while “these bodies were subject to regular condition checking, signs of deterioration were present”. Similarly, John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford also highlighted inadequate storage provision and bodies showing signs of deterioration in 2022.

The Health Service Journal investigated the issue and stated that inspectors had found at least 10 cases in the past two years where bodies had begun decomposing. A spokeswoman for the Human Tissue Association says that the management of the deceased in some licensed mortuaries was identified as a concern through the HTA on-site inspection process. She further added that “the deceased should be stored at temperatures that preserve their condition and there should be sufficient storage provision and alternatives in place if needed. We expect all licensed establishments to be compliant with our standards and ensure the dignity of the deceased is maintained”.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has said that the trust had improved communication with the coroner’s services and other partners “to ensure this doesn’t happen again”. Both King’s College Hospital and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust said mortuaries had been expanded, with Oxford citing “rising regional and national demand for mortuary facilities

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