Security at hospital is tightened up after incident at mortuary
ARRANGEMENTS ARE BEING REVIEWED AT OTHER SITES ACROSS THE HUMBER
SECURITY measures at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby have been enhanced following an incident in the mortuary, while arrangements are being reviewed at sites across the Humber.
Health chiefs were at a court hearing when Grimsby man, Damon Tingay, 30, admitted the sexual penetration of a corpse, knowing or being reckless as to what he was doing, on March 17. He also admitted trespassing with intent to commit a sexual offence at the mortuary of the Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, on the same day.
The offence was committed in the early hours of March 17 after Tingay had trespassed in the grounds of the hospital on Scartho Road. Tingay, 30, formerly of Caistor Drive, Grimsby, but recently of no fixed address, appeared at Hull Crown Court to plead guilty to the two offences. He has been told he faces a ‘significant’ custodial sentence and was further remanded in custody. Bosses of the Trust which runs the hospital were at court to hear the pleas. They provided CCTV footage of Tingay arriving in the hospital grounds and his trespass to the site.
A judge will pass sentence at Grimsby Crown Court in June, after either seeing the CCTV footage or hearing a detailed account, from the prosecution, of the defendant’s movements at the hospital.
At court, defence barrister Craig
Lowe asked for a psychiatric report to be prepared on Tingay.
A report will also be prepared by the probation service to assess the potential level of danger that he poses to the public.
Judge John Thackray KC told Tingay: “You face a significant custodial sentence for this serious offending.
“I also have in mind whether you satisfy the dangerousness criteria. Make sure you co-operate with the probation service and the psychiatrist.” Following the hearing, a spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Partnership, said: “We attended court and we are aware of the defendant’s plea. “This appalling incident was caused by the actions of a rogue individual, after they forced entry to our mortuary facility in Grimsby.
“Since this occurred we have worked with Humberside Police, our regulators and stakeholders in order to make some immediate enhancements to arrangements and to review our security measures at all of our mortuary sites in the Humber region.
“We have been in regular contact with the Human Tissue Authority, who visited the site shortly after the incident, to review practices within our mortuary services to ensure they are robust and that the bodies in our care are safe and well looked after.
“Our principal concern of course is the wellbeing of the families of those who have been affected by the dreadful actions of this individual and we will continue to offer them any support they need throughout this process.”