Bodies found decomposing for up to 80 DAYS at NHS hospitals due to ‘lack of freezer space’
BODIES have been left to rot in at least a dozen NHS hospitals, according to damning reports of mortuary conditions.
Morgues around the country had too little freezer space, kept bodies too warm and hung on to them for too long, an investigation found.
A number of the bodies began to decompose while still in the hospital and one had still not been put into a freezer after 84 days, or 12 weeks.
There were at least 12 cases since 2022 where patients had started to rot because of poor storage, the Health Service Journal investigation found.
A spokesperson for the government watchdog, the Human Tissue Authority, said: “The deceased should be stored at temperatures that preserve their condition and there should be sufficient storage provision and alternatives in place if needed.
“The management of the deceased in some mortuaries was identified as a concern through the HTA on-site inspection process.”
The dignity of the deceased must be maintained
Spokesperson
The treatment of the dead has been under scrutiny after morgue monster David Fuller, an electrician at hospitals in Kent, sexually abused more than 100 deceased female patients between 2005 and 2020.
He was jailed for life in 2021 after also being found guilty of murder.
The owners of a private funeral home in Hull, Yorkshire, were arrested earlier this year after rotting bodies were found in their mortuary and families said they were given the wrong ashes.
The new HSJ investigation found issues at NHS hospital mortuaries dotted around England.
Many kept bodies in fridges for longer than the 30-day time limit.
Some delayed freezing – used to stop bodies decomposing if they are kept for a long time – or said they “rotated” the use of freezers because there was not enough space.
Hospitals in Leeds, the Isle of Wight, Blackburn, London, Peterborough, Oxford, Hemel Hempstead, Bolton and Manchester were found to have issues in the investigation.
The Human Tissue Authority added: “We expect all licensed establishments to be compliant with our standards and ensure the dignity of the deceased is maintained.”
WHAT THE REPORTS FOUND
AN INVESTIGATION found around a dozen hospitals had problems with their mortuaries raised in reports by the Human Tissue Authority.
They included:
- Bodies kept for up to 70 days and showing signs of deterioration at Leeds General Hospital. The hospital said: “We now have improved systems in place to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
- Bodies were kept on a rotation because there was not enough freezer space at Barnsley Hospital. The hospital said it no longer does this.
- A body was found in “poor condition” after being kept in a fridge for 84 days at the Royal Bolton Hospital. The mortuary was completely full during a site visit in 2023. The hospital said: “We now have increased capacity, which has resolved this issue.”
- Bodies were deteriorating at John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford because they were kept in fridges for too long. The hospital said: “The mortuary has recently been refurbished and expanded to increase its capacity.”
- Bodies were rotated between fridges and non-refrigerated rooms to deal with space shortage at the Lewisham and Greenwich Hospital Trust in London. The trust said: “We have put in place an extensive action plan to improve the quality of our care.”
Source: Health Service Journal