Eight human remains were discovered in an advanced state of decomposition at a Nottingham NHS trust mortuary this past March after hospital facilities ran out of necessary freezer space. An inspection conducted by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) at the Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) also identified significant lapses in identity verification protocols, which authorities warned created a serious risk of releasing incorrect bodies to grieving families.
The mortuary operations at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) NHS trust, which manages the QMC, faced harsh criticism on Wednesday from independent review chair Donna Ockenden. Her comments came as she revealed that hundreds of local families had been subjected to substandard maternity care. The trust expressed its sincere apologies for failing to uphold the required professional standards.
Concurrent with these findings, two individuals have been released on bail following their arrests related to operational procedures at the mortuary. The arrests, linked to the police-led Operation Perth, were made on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. This investigation, launched in 2023, is examining systemic failings and breaches of the Human Tissue Act regarding the handling of deceased patients.
Concerns regarding after-death care first surfaced after the family of Harriet Hawkins, who was stillborn at the trust in 2016, discovered her body had decomposed to such an extent that it required triple-bagging for burial. Subsequent inquiries uncovered 17 major areas of concern, leading the independent maternity review to scrutinize the treatment of 16 other babies and one mother. The review discovered that one infant had been disposed of as clinical waste, another family received the wrong baby, and a deceased mother’s remains had deteriorated so severely that relatives were cautioned against viewing her.
Donna Ockenden’s report explicitly highlighted recurring failures to maintain the dignity of the deceased, noting specifically that paediatric post-mortem arrangements were inadequate. Following these revelations, the HTA conducted an unannounced inspection in March 2026 across the trust’s two sites, QMC and City Hospital. The resulting report, published this week, documented three critical shortfalls, six major concerns, and one minor issue. Investigators confirmed that a lack of freezer capacity led to bodies being stored in unsuitable refrigerated areas, resulting in the advanced deterioration of eight individuals.
Furthermore, the inspection found that certain baby post-mortems were performed in inadequately ventilated laboratory spaces by staff lacking proper mortuary training. An audit further revealed that over 50 percent of 145 reportable incidents had not been escalated to regulators as required. NUH chief executive Anthony May acknowledged the findings as deeply disappointing and confirmed that an action plan is underway to rectify these failures, stating his profound apology to those whose dignity was not respected.maintained. Medical director Manjeet Shehmar added that the trust is taking the HTA’s feedback with the utmost seriousness and has already begun implementing corrective improvements.
