HTA inspectors say eight bodies at Nottingham hospital trust were left in 'advanced deterioration'

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is facing fresh scrutiny after Human Tissue Authority inspectors found eight bodies at its mortuary were left in a state of advanced deterioration, according to reporting published on June 25, 2026.

The finding adds a mortuary investigation to the wider scandal already engulfing the trust, which has been under intense pressure over maternity and neonatal care failings.

Inspectors visited the trust’s mortuary in March 2026, according to the reporting. They concluded that bodies had not been transferred to freezer storage within a sufficient timeframe.

That delay left eight bodies in advanced deterioration, the reporting said.

Mortuary inspection findings

The reporting also says the inspectors found the mortuary had insufficient storage to meet demand.

A separate concern was identification practice. Wristbands were not always checked when bodies were transferred to funeral services, creating a risk that the wrong body could be released.

The mortuary service is operated by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust at Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital under a Human Tissue Authority licence.

Those findings raise questions about compliance with the Human Tissue Act and the terms of the trust’s licence, as well as the practical handling of bodies in storage and transfer.

The report does not suggest that the eight bodies were all linked to a single incident. Rather, it points to wider operational problems in how the mortuary was being run.

Chronology of escalating scrutiny

The new revelations come after a series of other developments at the trust in June.

On June 22, Nottinghamshire Police said two men aged 55 and 59 had been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with mortuary operating practices. Police said the arrests were part of Operation Perth, their investigation into maternity services at the trust.

Two days later, on June 24, Donna Ockenden’s review found that 444 women and 76 babies suffered potentially avoidable harm or death at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust between 2012 and 2025.

The mortuary findings reported on June 25 add another strand to that fast-moving picture of regulatory and criminal scrutiny.

The timing matters. The public already knew the trust was under deep examination for maternity failings. The mortuary report shows the concerns extended beyond maternity care and into the trust’s handling of the dead.

Trust response and oversight

Anthony May, the trust’s chief executive, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he took responsibility and apologised for what happened.

He also said the trust had commissioned a separate review into mortuary services.

The trust said it remains licensed by the Human Tissue Authority and has submitted an action plan with independent oversight.

That response suggests the trust is trying to show it is still operating within a regulatory framework while working through remedial steps. The public reporting does not set out the full contents of that action plan.

The trust has not publicly detailed in the reporting how many of the identified problems have already been fixed, or which changes are still under way.

Why the findings matter

The stakes are serious. The reported failings involve possible mishandling and misidentification of deceased patients, along with the risk that bodies could be released to families without the safeguards expected in mortuary practice.

They also raise wider regulatory questions. The Human Tissue Authority oversees mortuary services under a licensing system designed to ensure safe and lawful handling of bodies and tissues.

For Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the mortuary issues deepen the reputational damage already caused by the maternity scandal.

The trust has been under sustained public and official pressure over care standards, governance and accountability. The new findings suggest those problems were not confined to one department.

Families are also likely to be anxious about what the inspection means in practice, especially where body identification and release procedures were not consistently followed.

Background to the wider scandal

The mortuary concerns sit alongside the broader Ockenden review into the trust’s maternity and neonatal services.

That review’s findings on June 24 were devastating in scale, with 444 women and 76 babies identified as having suffered potentially avoidable harm or death over a long period.

The trust is already facing intense questions about leadership, oversight and whether warning signs were missed for years.

Earlier concern about mortuary care at the trust had also been raised by the family of Harriet Hawkins, whose stillborn daughter’s body reportedly decomposed badly in the mortuary in 2016.

That background makes the new inspection findings harder to treat as an isolated problem. They add to a pattern of repeated concern around the trust’s treatment of families at some of the most distressing moments possible.

What happens next

The main immediate questions are whether the Human Tissue Authority will publish a standalone inspection report or take further enforcement action.

It is also unclear whether police will bring charges tied specifically to mortuary practices, or how far the current inquiry will reach.

Another open question is how many families may have been affected by the handling issues and what contact or support they may receive.

The trust says it has an action plan in place, but the reporting does not establish which operational changes have already been completed and which remain under way.

For now, the mortuary findings remain part of a widening examination of Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust’s care, governance and handling of the dead.