Declining mortuary standards raise risk of burying ‘wrong body’

FAMILIES risk burying the wrong bodies because of falling standards at mortuaries, inspections have shown.

One investigation reveals a 20-fold rise in major failings in just one year. They included mortuaries storing the dead in filthy fridges and saws used for post-mortems that were found to be rusty and dirty. At some hospitals, protocols to identify the dead were so weak that there was “a significant risk of misidentification of the deceased”.

An investigation by Health Service Journal reveals 151 major failings identified at mortuaries during 2017-18 – compared with just seven the year before. In eight cases, critical failings were identified – meaning they were found to pose a “significant risk” to human safety or dignity, or were a breach of the Human Tissue Act 2004.

No such failings were reported in the previous four years. Overall, 510 failings were identified across the mortuaries inspected in 2017-18 – a rise from 59 the previous year. Experts said some of the rise could be due to a tightening up of the inspection regime. But they said this could not explain the dramatic increase in the most serious breaches.

Pathologists blamed shortages of staff and lack of funds to repair facilities. At Torbay Hospital, Devon, critical failings included “extensive rusting” of equipment, while failed drainage systems meant body fluids became pooled during examinations.

Alexandra Hospital in Redditch, Worcs, had a dirty fridge-freezer unit, no monitoring of fridge temperatures and, in some cases, fridges left so cold that bodies were at risk of freezing. Dirty storage facilities were found at Worcestershire Royal Hospital, in Worcester, run by the same trust.

Leaks in service tunnels used to transport bodies at Southend Hospital posed “risks to the dignity of the deceased and…[and] damage to bodies.”

Trusts with critical failings were asked to take immediate action on issues, which have since been addressed.