Failing hospital is accused of treating dead bodies ‘like trash’ after storing corpses in containers next to car park when its mortuary ran out of room
- Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington using overflow fridges for dead
- Whistleblower claims containers are not always locked – but bosses deny this
- Patients group has accused the hospital of throwing bodies ‘out like trash’
- Bosses claim that the containers are always locked and monitored 24/7
One of London’s major hospitals is using chilled containers outside to store dead bodies because it has run out of space in its mortuary, it was revealed today.
The Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington has been accused of treating bodies ‘like trash’ after it was found to be keeping the dead in fridges as a solution to overcrowding.
The overflow unit is allegedly not always locked, meaning members of the public could potentially gain access, it was claimed.
It has been suggested the practice could benefit coroners who could access the bodies without needing keys, but the hospital denied this was the case today.
The Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington has been storing the dead outside its mortuary in containers (area circled) because of a lack of space
The hospital in Orpington, south-east London, can house about 74 bodies at its regular morgue.
But the extra two refrigerated containers kept next to a car park can each store 32.
One fridge currently contains 30 bodies and the other is empty.
A source told The Sun: ‘It is disrespectful to the dead and their families would not be happy if they found out. Anything could happen to the bodies because it is not locked.’
Last night Joyce Robins from Patient Concern said: ‘A car park is no place to leave dead bodies in a civilised society. It sounds as if they are being thrown out like trash.
‘If I learned a loved one was being stored in a car park like this I would be distraught. It’s a terrible insult and quite unacceptable.’
The hospital said last night that it helped store bodies from around south-east London and north Kent.
Inspectors have found previously that the hospital was failing because of a lack of bed space and waiting times
A hospital spokesman said: ‘The hospital provides mortuary capacity for Bromley and Bexley local authorities and neighbouring hospitals and takes great care to respect the dignity of the deceased.
‘These purpose built containers are in the discrete mortuary area of the hospital and not in public view.
‘They are always locked, under 24-hour security and CCTV surveillance and only accessible by appropriate hospital staff’.
The PRUH, run by King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was rated ‘requires improvement’ following its most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.
One of the main criticisms was that some patients had to wait 12 hours for a free bed.
Operations were sometimes cancelled and not always rescheduled and undertaken within 28 days.
And medicines had not been stored away safely in areas including wards and theatres.
Last year, health chiefs denied that the Princess Royal University Hospital’s A&E department was a ‘shambles’ and that the pressure on emergency units had ‘spiralled out of control’.