Family cremates wrong body after bungling hospital staff gives them the wrong body – then have to hold a second funeral for the right one
- Health chiefs blame ‘human error’ at South Wales hospital mortuary
A family in Wales cremated the body of a stranger after inept hospital staff gave them the wrong body.
Health chiefs have blamed a “human error” at a south Wales hospital’s mortuary which has left a grieving family in shock.
The body was removed from the mortuary at Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran in South Wales and the funeral service was held at Sirhowie Valley Crematorium.
The health board later discovered the mix-up and was forced to break the news to the family.
Two weeks later, the family had to hold a second funeral for a recently deceased relative.
Health chiefs have blamed a “human error” at a south Wales hospital’s mortuary which has left a grieving family in shock.
Its chief executive, Nikola Prigodzic, met with a family who had to endure two funerals in two weeks.
The wrongly cremated man had no known living relatives, according to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board in South Wales.
Its chief executive, Nikola Prigodzic, met with a family who had to endure two funerals in two weeks.
She said: “We are absolutely heartbroken by what happened to the family and take responsibility for this isolated incident.
“No words we can say or actions we can take can fix this.
“We are deeply sorry and our thoughts and full support remain with the family.”
A spokesman for the crematorium said: “We do not have permission to make any comments without the consent of the families.”
It is understood that the costs of the second funeral will be borne by the health board.
Prigodzic added: “We would also like to reassure the public that this is an exceptional case.
“We identified this error through our own processes and, following an initial review, are confident that this was due to an isolated human error.”