Hospital sanctioned after two grieving households given the flawed our bodies
An NHS hospital in Wales has been sanctioned after two grieving families were given the wrong bodies for their relatives’ funerals.
Grange University Hospital has had its recognition as a mortuary ‘partially suspended’ following the mistaken release of two complete strangers’ bodies in a matter of weeks.
Health chiefs at the modern £350million hospital in Gwent blamed ‘human error’ on two bodies complete strangers being released from their mortuary for family funerals.
In the first bungle, a cremation ceremony was carried out 12 miles away at Sirhowy Valley Crematorium as mourners gathered.
But the wrong body was cremated and the family were only told months later that the service had, in fact, burned the body of a stranger.
Grange University Hospital (seen) in Wales has had its recognition as a mortuary ‘partially suspended’ following the mistaken release of two complete stangers’ bodies in a matter of weeks
Aneurin Bevan University Health Board chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz has met with one family who went through the ordeal of holding two funerals in a fortnight last year to apologise
It was only two weeks after the health board informed the family of the error that a second funeral finally put their loved one at rest.
The person wrongly cremated had no known living relatives according to the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in South Wales.
Its chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz met with the family who went through the ordeal of holding two funerals in a fortnight.
She said: ‘We are utterly heartbroken about what has happened to the family and we take responsibility for this isolated incident.
‘No words we can say, or actions we can take, can put this right.
‘We are deeply sorry, and our thoughts and full support remain with the family.’
A spokesman for the crematorium said: ‘We do not have permission to provide any comments without the consent of families.’
It is understood that the cost of the second funeral is being met by the health board.
Prygodzicz added: ‘We would also like to reassure the public that this is an exceptional case.
‘We identified this mistake through our own processes and after an initial review we are confident that this is down to an isolated human error.’
A second blunder happened weeks later in November 2023 when again the wrong body was released – but details of the case have not been revealed.
UKAS – the UK’s national accreditation service – found ‘evidence of active ongoing risks and significant areas of concern’ at the hospital mortuary.
Assessors found ‘evidence of a lack of standardisation’ in the procedures for patient release five months after the two ‘serious’ mix-ups.
The investigation uncovered how deceased patients arriving at the mortuary from the community have different identification tags and paperwork from those who arrive there from the hospital.
It also flagged up ‘inconsistency’ with information added into the mortuary register.
UKAS also raised concerns about a ‘lack of security measures in place’ including CCTV coverage and no list of personnel with access to the facility.
UKAS found seven ‘areas of improvement’ and decided to partially suspend its accreditation of the Grange’s mortuary service over ‘serious concerns on security and safe patient management’.
The Aneurin Bevan health board said it had put in safeguards against any further incidents and is working with mortuary staff to ‘deliver continued improvements’.
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said the two ‘unprecedented’ incidents at the mortuary ‘were found to have the same root cause’.
He said the health board launched its own investigation, audited the department and introduced safeguards against repeat mix-ups – and has to date completed 17 of 19 recommendations made by its own investigators.
‘It is important to note that UKAS is not a regulatory body, and that UKAS accreditation is not a mandatory requirement, but we voluntarily ask them to review our services to maintain good practice,’ the spokesman said.
‘Enhanced CCTV is being implemented. All our mortuary sites are secure, with swipe card access in place’.
Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan apologised for the mistakes while she was health secretary.
Baroness Morgan said: ‘I’m very sorry for the dreadful distress that has been inflicted on these families.’
