An investigation has been launched at a hospital in Glasgow following an error that resulted in the cremation of the wrong body.
Hospital officials said the body was mistakenly released to an undertaker, with the error only discovered after the funeral service had taken place and the cremation completed.
As a result of the error, another family was unable to have the remains of their relative present at their funeral.
NHS leaders have apologised to the two families affected by the mistake at Queen Elizabeth university hospital in Glasgow, which is the largest hospital in Scotland.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which runs the hospital, admitted that procedures for identification and labelling of bodies before transfer from the mortuary had not been followed, noting it was due to human error.
The staff involved have been suspended.
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Medical director at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Dr Scott Davidson, offered “sincere apologies” to both families.
“We have very rigorous processes for the identification and labelling of bodies from arrival in our mortuaries until their release into the care of an undertaker,” he said.
Admitting that they had not followed the process, he said: “It is of deep regret that these processes have not been adhered to on this occasion, and that as a result two families have been caused significant additional distress at an already very difficult time.
“We launched an immediate investigation into this incident and will ensure that learning is applied.”
Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital is currently under a public inquiry following a series of infection outbreaks and concerns over its water and ventilation systems, which emerged just three years after the facility was completed in 2015.
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