An investigation has been launched after a family cremated the wrong body due to a mix-up at a hospital in Wales.
An NHS board has apologised over the incident in which relatives held a funeral service after being given the body of a different person, who is not believed to have any surviving family members.
The family, who buried the first body around three weeks ago and have not been named, held a second funeral service after the mistake at the Grange university hospital in Cwmbran, south Wales, was discovered.
An internal investigation has been initiated into the circumstances that saw the wrong body cremated at Sirhowy Valley crematorium in Blackwood, the South Wales Argus reported.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We are utterly heartbroken about what has happened to the family, and we take responsibility for this isolated incident.
“Words cannot express how sorry we are. We have met the family to fully inform them about this situation and to offer them as much support as they need.
“We would also like to reassure the public that this is an exceptional case. We identified this mistake through our own processes and after an initial review we are confident that this is down to human error in an isolated case.
“However, we are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident and we will keep family members fully updated throughout our investigation.”
The statement added: “No words we can say, or actions we can take, can put this right. We are deeply sorry, and our thoughts and full support remain with the family. To the current knowledge of the health board, there are no known family of the other patient.”
A spokesperson for the crematorium, which is part of Westerleigh Group, told the Argus: “We pride ourselves on providing exceptional care and support to all families we serve and as such we treat their right to privacy incredibly seriously.
“We do not have permission to provide any comments without the consent of families.”
In 2015, the Guardian reported that a spelling mistake and failures by mortuary staff to carry out adequate identity checks led to the wrong body being cremated at the funeral of Conservative MEP Philip Bradbourn.
