Hampshire widow wins damages after late husband's body was left to decompose in hospital mortuary

• ITV Meridian's Penny Silvester spoke to a widow whose late husband's body was left to decompose

A widow from Hampshire says she is struggling to grieve properly, after her late husband's body was allowed to decompose in a mortuary.

Caroline Murray's husband Paul died in November 2020.

But months later she was told his body had not been looked after properly at the Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital - which meant the family was unable to hold a funeral mass.

The NHS Trust responsible has apologised to Caroline - and has admitted it failed to follow the correct procedures.

Caroline Murray was married to her late husband Paul for more than forty years. She said

"The very least that can be afforded to your deceased relative is dignity and respect and that was not there.

"I have nightmares with visions of my husband in a black plastic bag discarded somewhere for weeks on end and no-one seemed to care."

The former Hampshire fire and rescue worker died following a short brain illness.

A post mortem examination was carried out but it was five months before his body was released to the family and his widow was told she could not view his body.

The Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust admitted it failed to follow internal procedures around checking the condition of the body in the months following Paul Murray's death.

In a statement the Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: "We are deeply sorry that the care we provided in this case fell short of the high standards our patients and their families rightly expect.

“A thorough investigation took place, with robust measures implemented to prevent this happening again.

"We recognise and are sorry that these learnings cannot change what happened for Mr Murray and his family.”