After a mix-up at a scandal-plagued NHS hospital in Scotland, a family unintentionally cremated the remains of a stranger.
A corpse with the incorrect label was given to undertakers by mortuary officials at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.
Due to the error, the wrong body was cremated during a memorial service for a loved one.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Scotland’s largest health board – accepted ‘two families have been caused considerable distress at an already very difficult time’ as a consequence of the incident.
It is understood that human error was to blame for the ‘wrongful release’ of the body from the health board’s mortuary at the hospital.
The tragic blunder is only the latest in a string of scandals to hit Scotland’s largest hospital, which opened ten years ago.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed a full investigation is now underway, with staff involved suspended while this takes place.
The families involved were notified of what had happened, with ‘full support’ being offered to them after the incident, said to have taken place last month.
Dr Scott Davidson, medical director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, said: ‘I would like to offer my sincere apologies to both families affected.
‘We have very rigorous processes for the identification and labelling of bodies from arrival in our mortuaries until their release into the care of an undertaker.
‘It is of deep regret that these processes have not been adhered to on this occasion, and that as a result two families have been caused significant additional distress at an already very difficult time.
‘We launched an immediate investigation into this incident and will ensure that learning is applied.’
Scottish Conservative public health spokesman Brian Whittle branded the incident a ‘shocking and unforgivable failure’.
The MSP added: ‘Families entrust the NHS with their loved ones at their most vulnerable moment, yet basic procedures have been ignored with devastating consequences.
‘After previous mix-ups at this very hospital, there is no excuse. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde must be held fully accountable and explain how on earth this was allowed to happen.’
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘We wish to express our sincere condolences to the families involved with this terrible incident.
‘We are deeply concerned by what has happened and have been clear with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde that they must fully investigate the circumstances.’
Earlier this month, it was confirmed that a QEUH nurse is to stand trial on a charge of culpable homicide after allegedly giving a man a fatal dose of a drug meant for another patient in 2022.
Just a year after the hospital opened, reports began to emerge of sewage leaks and ventilation problems at the site, according to The Times.
Then, in 2017, ten-year-old patient Milly Main died during cancer treatment after contracting an infection discovered in water at the hospital.
Two child cancer wards closed the following year in connection with infection fears, while, in 2019, it was announced that two patients died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings.
I do hope that these people who were cremated were actually dead, or is that too much to ask for with this hospital, which should be closed down immediately, and what if the persons that were cremated, one was to be buried, what then – it’s not like they could have dug them up.
This isn’t a hospital; it’s a UK prison system, and to be fair, you’d probably get more consideration from the prison system, and of course, no one will be sacked.
No one will be held responsible, and no lessons will be learnt. They will simply take a few weeks off and attribute it to PTSD.
This is our NHS at its best. They call it world-class healthcare, so it’s not much to ask for world-class healthcare that we, the taxpayers, pay for.
Our deceased are handed over to mortuary staff, who record the body, fill in the necessary forms and release the body to the undertakers. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 