EXCLUSIVE

Norfolk hospital bosses apologise after mortuary blunder.

Undertakers removed the corpse from the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, believing it belonged to someone else, and transported it to a funeral parlour in North Walsham.

It lingered there for four days until hospital officials noticed the error and returned the body to the hospital mortuary before being collected by the proper funeral directors in Norwich.

The family of the body that was wrongfully removed has been notified.

The hospital blamed human error for the blunder, which is believed to have occurred because the mortuary housed the bodies of two people with the same surname.

The regrettable occurrence, which occurred earlier this month, has caused concerns not only for the hospital but also for Murrell Cork Funeral Home, which failed to recognise that it had retrieved the incorrect body.

Dr Bernard Brett, medical director at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital (Image: Norfolk and Norwich Hospital)

Dr. Bernard Brett, the N&N’s medical director, stated, “We have offered our sincere condolences and an unreserved apology after a deceased patient was mistakenly transferred from our mortuary to the incorrect funeral directors.”

“Despite several process checks in place, a combination of human error and a failure to follow all of our standard operating procedures resulted in this extremely tragic situation.

“As soon as this error was identified, the deceased patient was returned to the Trust and arrangements are underway with their funeral director.”

The Trust has verified that an inquiry is underway and ongoing, and the family told this newspaper that they were working with the hospital to ensure that such an incident did not occur again.

A family statement read: “We are still grieving and working closely with the N&N. We ask that our privacy be maintained.

There are no more specifics regarding the dead, however it has been established that the body was released before Norfolk’s coroner gave clearance.

Murrell Cork funeral directors in North Walsham. (Image: Newsquest)

Dr Brett went on to say, “We met with the family to truly apologise for this mistake, to explain what happened, and to plan our next steps in the aftermath of this isolated incidence.

“We have already identified additional steps, many of which have been put in place, including more rigorous checks before transferring patients to funeral directors, an upgrade of mortuary IT systems and improved ID check processes from funeral directors to avoid a repeat of this very regrettable incident. Murrell Cork was also asked for comment, but he did not answer.

Last week, it issued an online statement referring to funeral standards being highlighted in the media.

It stated: “[We] wanted to reassure people about our services and discuss something very important to us: trust and standards. “When you put your trust in us, you deserve complete assurance that your loved one will be cared for.

Unfortunately, not all funeral directors adhere to the same standards, which is why inspection and accountability are important.

“Your loved one deserves the dignity of an inspected and accredited funeral provider, and this profession owes you the highest possible standards of care – and nothing less.”

It also stated that it was a “proud member” of the National Association of Funeral Directors and “fully adhered” to its code of practice.

Read more on Straightwinfortoday.com