Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust holds licences under the Human Tissue Act 2004 to conduct post-mortem activities at both Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, specifically the:
- making of a post-mortem examination
- storage of the body of a deceased person, or relevant material from the deceased, for use for a scheduled purpose (including awaiting a post-mortem examination)
- removal of organs, tissues or cells from the body of a deceased person for use for a scheduled purpose (including research)
The designated individual named on these licences is Professor Andrew Nicholson. He is supported by a number of persons designated, who each have responsibility for a particular area:
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Pratibha Shah, histopathology service manager
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Kulbir Gill, Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) manager (bereavement)
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Karen McCarthy, cardiac morphology
Obtaining consent for a post-mortem examination
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust’s bereavement service, within the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), leads on obtaining consent for post-mortem examinations and the subsequent retention or disposal of organs or tissue removed as part of the examination.
PALS staff have been trained in sensitively obtaining consent under the Human Tissue Act 2004 for the making of a post-mortem examination, as well as the potential removal and retention of tissue taken as part of the examination.
PALS can be contacted on 020 7349 7715 (Royal Brompton Hospital) or 01895 82 65 72 (Harefield Hospital).
Retention of organs or tissue obtained through post-mortem examination
Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust actively works to ensure that any organs or tissue samples, which are either removed as part of the post-mortem examination or referred for specialist analysis, are retained or disposed of in accordance with the wishes of the family.
In 2011, the Human Tissue Authority directed all licensed post-mortem establishments to audit their holdings of organs and tissue samples to verify that all material was being held with appropriate consent. All retained organs, tissue samples and a representative sample of tissue microscope slides were audited at the Trust, with consent documentation verified to be in place for all audited material.
We hope this provides reassurance to our patients and their families that the Trust has robust systems in place for the management of post-mortem material.