Trusts must recheck 10 years’ worth of mortuary records

Trusts must check records stretching back to 2016 to ensure any failings that have taken place in their mortuaries have been reported to the regulator.

Reportable incidents can include accidental damage to a body, and disposal or retention of organs against family wishes.

The move by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) follows revelations of poor practice involving neo-natal bodies at Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUH) and the arrest of two men.  The Nottingham maternity review found “multiple failings” to report incidents to the HTA.

The HTA inspected NUH in March this year. The inspection “identified a critical shortfall relating to serious and long-running failure to report incidents to the HTA”. Inspectors found eight bodies “showing advanced deterioration” which had not been transferred to a freezer because of the lack of sufficient capacity at Queen’s Medical Centre. The deceased were routinely stored in bags in a refrigerated area because of the lack of freezer space, it added.

A review of incidents found on the trust’s internal systems showed that 73 had not been reported to the HTA of the last 10 years. It also found 10 “shortfalls” in procedures and processes – three of which were critical.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: HSJ, 24 June 2026