A SECOND corpse blunder at Scottish superhospital as 96-year-old gran’s physique handed over to improper undertaker

Scotland’s largest hospital faces a new mix-up row after a grandmother’s body was given to the wrong funeral director.

The family of 96-year-old Agnes Lane has submitted a complaint to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde after her body was released from the Queen ­Elizabeth University Hospital to a firm they hadn’t employed.

Nicole Brammer, 54, was horrified to receive a phone call from Co-op Funeralcare last month advising her that they had possession of her late grandmother.

It comes just weeks after another blunder resulted in a family ­cremating someone who wasn’t their relative. 

Ms Brammer, from Glasgow, said: ‘Families shouldn’t have to go through this when they are grieving. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else, it’s not right.’

Ms Lane, a retired bus conductor, passed away at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) on November 27. 

Her granddaughter began making arrangements in the following days, contracting funeral company ­Silver Rose, which was local to her grandmother in Renfrew, and ­asking for a direct cremation.

But the week after her death, Ms Brammer got a call from Co-op Funeralcare asking her to come and sign a contract with them.

She recalled: ‘I was ­completely shocked. They said, “We’ve got your gran”. I didn’t understand, as I hadn’t signed up with them. I’d signed up with another firm.

Agnes Lane passed away in November at the QEUH

Scotland’s £847m superhospital, the QEUH, is at the centre of a public inquiry 

‘It was like they had stolen her. I just couldn’t believe they had her body when I hadn’t authorised it.

‘I don’t understand why she was released to a ­company I hadn’t employed.’

Ms Brammer had contacted ­various funeral directors for quotes and to ask about their services. She had spoken to the Co-op, but instead opted for Silver Rose.

Last week it emerged that a mix-up at the QEUH resulted in a family cremating someone they believed to be their relative, only to discover that their loved one was still in the hospital morgue.

QEUH mortuary staff have been suspended while an investigation is carried out and the ashes have now been handed over to the ­correct funeral company.

In 2017, the body of 56-year-old William Paterson was released by the QEUH mortuary to the wrong funeral director and almost cremated before the mistake came to light.

And in 2021, a mum of four was left in the mortuary for six weeks with her family claiming NHS staff told them she had been ‘forgotten’ about. 

The health board later issued an apology. Ms Brammer said: ‘I saw the article about those two families and the mix-up, and I instantly panicked that it may not have been my gran who was cremated.

‘I had to send photographs to the funeral director and ask him if it was definitely her. It was a weekend of hell waiting for the reply.

‘He said he had identified my gran and reassured me it was ­definitely her. This is not something anyone should have to go through at any time, let alone when they are grieving.’

She added: ‘I’ve now learned all you need to pick someone up is their name, date of birth and address. You don’t need to show a contract with the ­relatives. 

It’s a free for all. That has to change. I’m also convinced these kinds of mistakes probably happen a lot more than is made public.’

A health board spokeswoman said QEUH staff ‘fully complied with all agreed procedures’ and that officials were ‘in touch with the family to answer their ­questions in relation to this case’.

She added: ‘We extend our ­condolences to Ms Lane’s family.’

A Co-op Funeralcare spokesman confirmed that Ms Brammer had spoken with the company but said they believed she had contracted them to carry out her grandmother’s cremation.

A spokesman said: ‘We therefore acted in good faith and in line with best practice for the care of the deceased by bringing her late grandmother into our care from the hospital as soon as possible.

‘As soon as we were informed that Ms Brammer would be using an alternative funeral director, we immediately facilitated a safe and careful transfer of the deceased on the same day.

‘We can assure Ms Brammer that her grandmother was provided with the highest standards of care at all times, and we extend our deepest condolences.’