The release ends months of frustration for the families involved, who have repeatedly called for the report to be issued.
Released just before midday the “Systems Analysis Report” details how the hospital’s Post Mortem Room Team sent perinatal organs for incineration on Wednesday the 25th of March and Thursday the 2nd of April 2020.
It’s been described as an “isolated incident” that happened due to the severe pressure on the Post Mortem Room Team during the unprecedented circumstances associated with preparing for the start of the pandemic.
The Review Team have described what happened as a “misguided decision” and a deviation from local policy and national standards and say the Post Mortem Room Team very much regret the action taken.
CUMH say they accept the points included in the report in relation to quality and continuous improvement and say CUMH has no involvement in operating the mortuary and had no part in the decision to dispose of the organs and tissues.
The South/South West Hospital Group, Cork University Hospital and Cork University Maternity Hospital say they have and once again apologise to the 18 families affected
The South/South West Hospital Group say they deeply regret that the distressing incident occurred and acknowledge that an error was made.
The group say they are truly sorry for the additional distress this has caused to grieving families.
