Letby trust criticised over fetus storage

The trust where Lucy Letby worked has been heavily criticised for how it looks after the bodies of fetuses.

The Countess of Chester Hospital did not have procedures in place to check the condition of bodies of babies and fetuses and a “small number” were incorrectly kept in refrigerators instead of freezer storage, according to the Human Tissue Authority. The trust told HSJ this involved two fetuses and no babies.

Moving a body to a freezer after 30 days is normally recommended because of the risk of deterioration. Failure to do so is regarded as a “critical shortfall”, its more serious censure, by the HTA.

The authority also discovered a number of “major shortfalls” at the trust. These included a risk of families viewing the wrong body or the wrong body being released to funeral directors.

The use of three identifiers before a body is viewed or released is standard practice but the inspection team found that operating procedures at the Countess of Chester did not always comply with this approach. Some forms used by the trust to authorise the release of bodies say families only need to confirm two identifying details and can “rely on the name of the deceased if attendees do not know the date of birth”.

SOPs – such as weekly checks of bodies – were not always carried out, while one 2025 review included no “physical audit of bodies”.

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Source: HSJ, 23 September 2026