April 8, 2022 5.17 pm This story is over 23 months old

Dead patient lay forgotten in hospital room for four days

An investigation has been launched

Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby. | Photo: NLaG

An investigation has been launched after the body of a deceased hospital patient was left in a side room for four days.

The person had passed away in Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby recently.

It was four days before the body was discovered and finally taken to the hospital’s mortuary.

The Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust is now looking into how this happened.

The family of the patient has been notified, and the trust’s chief executive has apologised to them.

The reason for the person’s death is unknown.

The incident has been reported to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Human Tissue Authority.

Peter Reading, chief executive of the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are investigating an incident regarding a patient not being taken to our mortuary as soon as we’d expect.

“We have informed the family and I would like to, once again, offer my condolences and apologise to them. We are carrying out an investigation and will share the findings with the family once complete.

“We have also reported the incident to the relevant external organisations.”

A spokesperson from the CQC said: “CQC inspectors were notified about this by the trust who are currently reviewing the incident. CQC will follow-up with the trust as part of our ongoing monitoring of services.”