Mum was sent photo of dead baby: NHS trust's mortuary failings explained
A review into Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has exposed severe failings in mortuary services, including the mishandling of deceased babies. The report highlights a lack of dignity and systemic failures in post-death care.
Why it matters
This scandal underscores critical failures in public healthcare management and the profound impact on bereaved families.
Image caption, Natalie Needham's son Kouper died in 2019
Warning: Some of the details in this story may be distressing to readers
For many of the hundreds of families involved in the largest maternity scandal in NHS history, the suffering did not end with the loss of a baby or loved one.
A key element of Donna Ockenden's review into Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust, published last month, not only found that mothers and babies suffered potentially avoidable harm - but also revealed a litany of failures in its mortuary service.
The review found mothers and babies "lost dignity" in a series of cases highlighted, including one baby who was disposed of as clinical waste and another who was placed in a mortuary space already occupied by a deceased adult. In a third case, the wrong baby was released to funeral directors.
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