‘Sorry’ simply isn’t good enough MP’s fury at organ scandal
I feel angry because they are sitting there not really telling me what happened Sarah Simpson
COMPENSATION must be paid to families caught up in the Tyneside body organs retention scandal, an MP said.
The South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust apologised to 41 families after samples were found at South Tyneside District Hospital in South Shields in 2015.
An internal investigation revealed the trust failed to act for four years to begin the process of dealing with the tissues and organs, which had been stored following unexplained deaths.
And in some cases, families buried or cremated their loved ones without knowing their bodies were not intact.
The trust is also in contact with a further five families after discovering samples from miscarried babies had been stored since 2012.
Health bosses expressed their “sincere apologies” to the people affected and said they have taken steps to prevent it from happening again. But South Shields MP Emma Lewell-Buck said: “The thing for me is that they knew about it but took no action and haven’t made it clear why they took no action. To simply say sorry is not good enough.
“When looking at what those families have gone through, it is absolutely heartbreaking. The senior management team can’t say that this is it and somebody needs to be held accountable for it.
“The families need some compensation and be offered some kind of support. I will be having discussions with the hospital to see if a more in-depth investigation can take place.” 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 horrified to discover that her dad’s brain, part of his heart and other organs were found at the hospital. Following a meeting with the trust’s executive medical director Dr Shahid Wahid on Monday, Ms Simpson said she was left with “a lot of unanswered questions”.
The 42-year-old said: “I feel angry because they are sitting there not really telling me what happened. They said he was stored with 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.”
In a statement, the trust said it acknowledged “a failure to appropriately follow national guidance on the disposal of tissue samples issued by the Human Tissue Authority”.
Dr Wahid said: “On behalf of the trust I would like to express our sincere apologies to the families who have been affected and for the distress and angst which has undoubtedly been caused.
“We have worked closely with colleagues at Northumbria and Cleveland Police, local coroners and the Human Tissue Authority throughout and have welcomed their guidance and support to conclude this investigation as sensitively as possible for all concerned.
“There is now a recognised collective responsibility amongst all organisations to deal effectively with human tissue samples which unfortunately was not in place at the time of these events many years ago. Our review has resulted in some very clear learning and I would like to firmly reassure people that we have taken all the necessary steps to review and refresh our systems and processes to prevent anything like this happening again.”