Dead are left to rot at NHS hospitals
BODIES have been left to decompose at NHS hospitals across England, inspectors have warned.
Officials from the Human Tissue Authority told how inadequate storage facilities and lack of freezer space means some corpses have been left for too long at unsuitable temperatures.
HTA says bodies must be put in frozen storage after 30 days in fridges or before, depending on the condition.
At Leeds General Infirmary last year, a body had “been in storage for 70 days despite being released by the coroner”. It had signs of decomposition and “soiled shrouding”.
A second corpse had been in storage for 47 days. Inspectors found there was no cleaning schedule for the body store at Leeds General.
Infested
At the Royal Blackburn Hospital, inspectors found “two bodies in an advanced state of decomposition as a result of not being moved after 30 days”.
At London’s King’s College Hospital, the HTA found mouldy and infested conditions for body storage.And there was inadequate storage at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.
The Health Service Journal said it had found at least 10 cases across the country since 2022.
A spokeswoman for the HTA said: “We expect all licensed establishments to ensure the dignity of the deceased is maintained.”
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We now have improved systems in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
King’s College Hospital said: “We have significantly increased our mortuary provision.”
Oxford University Hospitals’ mortuary was now “refurbished and expanded”.