Mortuary

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must ensure that non-mortuary staff and contractors, including maintenance staff employed by the Trust's external facilities management provider, are always accompanied by another staff …

The Chief Nurse should be made explicitly responsible for assuring the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Board that mortuary management is delivered in such a way that it protects …

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must assure itself that all regulatory requirements and standards relating to the mortuary are met and that the practice of leaving deceased people out …

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must assure itself that its Mortuary Managers are suitably qualified and have relevant anatomical pathology technologist experience. The Mortuary Manager should have a clear …

The role of Mortuary Manager at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust should be protected as a full-time dedicated role, in recognition of the fact that this is a complex …

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must review its policies to ensure that only those with appropriate and legitimate access can enter the mortuary.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must audit implementation of any resulting new policy and must regularly monitor access to restricted areas, including the mortuary, by all staff and contractors.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust must install CCTV cameras in the mortuary, including the post-mortem room, to monitor the security of the deceased and safeguard their privacy and dignity.

All NHS trusts with mortuaries and/or body stores should commission a specialist strategic review of the systems in place to protect deceased people, which should include a detailed risk assessment …

All NHS trusts should establish a routine reporting system for matters relating to mortuaries and body stores. This reporting system should include the presentation of a formal report, by the …

All NHS trusts should install CCTV inside the mortuary, with cameras facing all doors and access points, the reception area and the doors of body fridges, while maintaining the security …

All NHS trusts should routinely audit the access data of all facilities used to store deceased people.

There should be a process to routinely review who is permitted to access the mortuary unsupervised.

Where unsupervised access is permitted for a legitimate and unavoidable purpose, there should be individualised electronic access controls to enter the mortuary and restrict access to specific areas of the …

Where people other than mortuary staff are visiting the mortuary during working hours, for example contractors, cleaners and other visitors: Access must be limited to specific areas required for the …

Where mortuary staff are permitted to work alone in the mortuary, there should be a review of lone working policies, including consideration of activities involving direct handling of the deceased, …

CCTV must be installed inside the mortuary facing all doors and access points, the reception area and the doors of all fridges containing deceased people, including where these are accessible …

All NHS trusts should consider putting in place systemic operational barriers that prevent the security and dignity of deceased people being compromised. An example of this would be implementation of …

The mortuary service must be reviewed by professional auditors at least biennially, with the results of the audit reported to a formal committee regardless of the level of assurance. Local …

All NHS trusts should consider the installation of 'swipe to exit' for mortuary facilities. This would allow trusts to monitor and audit entry and exit, as well as time spent …