OAP fights for life after lorry crash

A DAUGHTER at the centre of the organ retention scandal vowed to keep fighting for answers after body parts of her dad were removed and stored in secret for 22 years.

The South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust admitted it failed to follow national guidelines to appropriately dispose of the samples found at South Tyneside District Hospital in South Shields.

Among those affected was Sarah Simpson, from Blakelaw, Newcastle, whose dad Terence died in a fall from a roof in the city in 1995.

She was left “appalled” after discovering her late dad’s brain, part of his heart and other organs were found at the hospital.

Ms Simpson, 42, said: “They are only taking responsibility from 2010 when they found some samples but dad was in there a lot longer than that.

“It has left me with a lot of unanswered questions. I feel angry because they are sitting there not really telling me what happened.

“They said he was stored in dignity but how can they say that when half of him was in a bucket? They have no idea what the families are going through.”

Ms Simpson said she is now planning to write a letter to the ombudsman in her bid for answers and may consider taking legal action.

She said: “They have no right to bring half of dad back to me after all these years. It is not acceptable.”

Following an internal investigation, the trust revealed it “missed opportunities” to contact the families affected from July 2008. It also failed to take any “decisive action” three years later when the samples were identified during another audit. Following the blunder, the trust said it has reviewed its internal processes and has introduced a new system for tracking and processing the samples. Northumbria and Cleveland police forces, who contacted the families, said they had no knowledge the samples were stored at the hospital.

A joint statement said: “This has been a distressing process for the families of those involved and we have tried our very best to ensure that it has been dealt with as sensitively as possible. On learning of the existence of the retained samples, specially trained officers have worked to identify, trace and speak to the families of those affected.

“Both of our organisations fully recognise the importance of carefully managing the retention and storage of human tissue samples collected for investigative purposes.” AN 82-year-old pedestrian is fighting for his life after being hit by a lorry near Beamish Museum.

The pensioner was knocked down by the HGV on the A693 in Beamish, County Durham, at about 11.45am on Friday, September 8.

He remains in a critical condition in hospital, according to police, who say he suffered “lifethreatening injuries” after being struck by the lorry.

Durham Constabulary police officers investigating the collision are now appealing for witnesses or anyone with information about the incident to come forward.

Anyone who may be able to help police should call 101, quoting incident number 139 of September 8.