Two men arrested in relation to hospital mortuary practices in Nottingham | UK news
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in the running of a mortuary service at a hospital trust at the center of the NHS’s biggest investigation into maternity services.
Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS Trust will be the focus of a major report on Wednesday into how failures have led to infant deaths and serious harm to families.
Nottinghamshire police said on Monday that two men had been arrested “in connection with operational practices within the mortuary service” at NUH.
NUH operates mortuary services at Queen’s Medical Center and Nottingham City Hospital under license from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA).
The men, aged 55 and 59, were arrested on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
“The action was carried out by Operation Perth, Nottinghamshire Police’s investigation into maternity services at both hospitals,” police said in a statement.
“Operation Perth identified breaches of Human Tissue Act regulations in relation to the management and operating practices of mortuary services.”
Rob Griffin, deputy chief constable of Nottinghamshire, said: “We recognize this will be distressing, particularly for families.
“We appreciate that this development comes just days before the publication of the independent maternity review led by Donna Ockenden in what will be an important but difficult time for families.
“We contacted the families we found to be directly affected by the problems created in NUH foundation morgues.
“As the investigation progresses, we will contact other directly affected families as soon as they are identified.”
Nearly 2,500 families and more than 800 staff contributed to the Ockenden review of NUH; The organization had already paid millions of pounds in compensation and fines after being prosecuted for inadequate maintenance.
Nottinghamshire Police launched a corporate manslaughter case last year as part of a wider criminal investigation into the trust’s birth defects.
Regulators the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) are also investigating allegations against individual staff.
