'Body mix up' at Manchester hospital
20/04/2004
Tests today revealed a horrendous series of mistakes that led to two families cremating and burying the wrong bodies.
At 7am this morning, Tuesday 20th April, an exhumation took place at Park Road Cemetery, Cheadle. Following an examination of dental records, one family discovered that the body was not that of their father, whom they thought they had buried 10months previously.
John Nicholas Melling Walsh sadly died aged 77 at the Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) on 8 July 2003. He was a well-known figure in the local community and over 200 people attended his funeral. 32 years previously John had bought a family grave in very close proximity to the graves of his parents and grandparents at the Park Road Cemetery in Cheadle. He didn't want to be cremated and it was his wish that he and his wife would be buried together.
On 16th July 2003 family members viewed the body of John NM Walsh. When son Graham along with his mother, first entered the Chapel of Rest, he did not think that it was his father. "My mother was clearly distressed but presumed that the body was in fact that of my father. I was completely taken aback and went immediately to the office of Jonathan Alcock & Sons Ltd Funeral Directors. I thought get a grip of your self Graham, it was just shock. I knew that if they had my father's wedding ring, they had the right body."
However when Graham went to the office and asked them whether they had the ring, he was told that there was no ring with his father. Graham recalls: "It was then that I asked whether they were sure that they had the right body and I was immediately slapped down for questioning their professionalism."
He had wanted to take the matter further and would have continued to argue, but at that point his mother had left the Chapel of Rest and was at his side. Graham felt that it was neither the time, nor the place to continue his pursuance of this. He therefore left it for the time being and said nothing to his family of what he thought.
On the day of the funeral Graham's wife Mary and their 3 sons viewed the person in the Chapel of Rest. None of them thought that the person lying there looked like their father-in-law and grandfather. So much so, Mary returned to the coffin and picked up the family photograph that was to be placed inside and started looking at the photograph and at the face alternately in order to look for identifying features. Again, it was neither the time nor the place to be causing ructions as to any mis-identity, so nothing was said.
What the family didn't then know, but through their vigour were later to find out, was that another John Walsh had died at the MRI on 3rd July 2003 and was in the hospital mortuary nearby their father. On the 10th July 2003 John Walsh was released to the funeral directors P Loftus & Son. His family wanted to remember him as he was and did not view his body. He was cremated in accordance with his wishes on the 11th July 2003 and his ashes were scattered in a garden of remembrance.
The family of John NM Walsh wrote to the MRI chasing the ring but nothing would have prepared them for the shock they were about to receive: The response read: "The initial investigation findings would indicate that as far as the Mortuary Staff were aware the ring was still present when his body was released to Alcocks Funeral Directors representative. However, the examination of the records has revealed a clerical error in that the Funeral Director's signature was placed alongside the details of another John Walsh in the mortuary register that same day and this is currently being investigated further."
This rang alarm bells immediately and a meeting was to set up between Graham and Mary Walsh and two members of the MRI Hospital Trust.
At the same time, Mary also wrote a letter to Alcocks Funeral Directors in order to obtain information from them about the disappearance of the ring. At this time, Ivor Walsh, Graham's brother did not know anything about the mix-up of the two bodies. He was told in late September 2003 when it became too much for Graham and Mary to handle alone.
Alcocks Funeral Directors were invited to a further meeting at the MRI with the family in order that questions could be asked of them. Graham recalls that when he telephoned the funeral directors they were at best belligerent in their response and refused to attend. Graham and Mary Walsh consulted the Code of Conduct for the National Association of Funeral Directors of which Alcocks are a member. This stated that any member of the organisation should co-operate fully with any agencies. Once they were able to show that they could report them to the National Association of Funeral Directors, Alcocks reluctantly agreed to attend the meeting. A comprehensive list of 35 questions was put to the MRI and a further 51 to Alcocks based on the knowledge held at that time and designed to elicit further knowledge to find the truth.
Eventually Graham, Mary and Ivor were given copies of the mortuary ledger and other documentation. Graham remarked: "It was not just one error, but several. We were astounded and it appeared that if we had been given the right body, it would have been clearly by chance."
When they could see they were not getting the answers they required, the family instructed Auriana Griffiths, Partner at Alexander Harris to act on their behalf.
It was clear that an exhumation was the only way to settle this. It was agreed with the MRI that Graham and Mary would approach the other family of the late John Walsh after the exhumation had taken place, when there was actual and substantial information to give to them, namely that the body of their relative had been mixed-up with the body of Graham and Ivor's father. Graham recalls: "We didn't want the other family to go through what we had been through over the past few months especially if it proved to be unnecessary."
The Home Office is required to grant a licence for an exhumation. Before arrangements can be made, an application was submitted. Auriana Griffiths explains: "The Home Office set pre-conditions before a licence is granted. These were that the other family of John Walsh were required to be informed and for the Next of Kin to sign a Consent Form giving permission for the exhumed body of their relative to be examined by a Forensic Odontologist, Dr. Freddy Martin, because the Home Office did not believe, on the evidence, that the person in the Walsh family grave was that of its rightful owner, namely John Nicholas Melling Walsh."
"The Home Office required adequate re-burial/cremation procedures to be in place, either in the form of re-interment if it is the body of John NM Walsh or in the form of another funeral service if it is, as strongly suspected, the body of John Walsh."
This meant that Graham and Mary had to inform the other family. On hearing of the events that had and were about to take place, the relatives of John Walsh were understandably distressed. His next of kin Mr and Mrs MacDonald recall: "It was a terrible shock, too terrible to take in all at once and it still seems unreal that something like this could have happened. We didn't view his body because he had undergone a post mortem and we wanted to remember him as he was."
Throughout this whole process confidentiality had been extremely important because the wife of 56 years of John Nicholas Melling Walsh was not aware what had been happening over the previous months for fear of the affect on her health and of upsetting her further. Unfortunately information had been provided to the media, which meant that Graham and Ivor had the very difficult task of telling their mother. Graham says, "Visiting my mother to tell her what had occurred and what we had been doing about it for the last nine months was the hardest thing I have ever had to do."
"She was absolutely devastated in a way that words cannot explain." Graham adds, "She has not stopped crying since and has visibly aged. For 56 years they had been together and it was their wish that they would remain together forever. My mother now has nothing."
Auriana Griffths, Partner at Alexander Harris who is now acting on behalf of both families today said: "Tests have revealed today that the body buried in the Walsh family grave in Cheadle was not that of John NM Walsh and that the findings during the examination of the exhumed body are consistent with that of John Walsh. It has been difficult for all involved. We are not yet at a position to clarify who was ultimately to blame for this horrendous sequence of events - whether it be the MRI, the first funeral directors who should have taken John Walsh or the second who on being told by the family that it was not their father could have taken further steps to confirm whether there had been a terrible mistake."
"What is most difficult is that the family of John NM Walsh have been unable to grieve because of all that has been happening and the need to keep the matter from their mother. Ivor has not been able to visit the family grave since and the whole family are now left with nothing. In addition the family of John Walsh have had a terrible shock which has brought everything back to them. They now need to make funeral arrangements for their relative and go through the process yet again."
"John NM Walsh had always used his middle initials to distinguish himself from others with the same name. Unfortunately, one of the faults at question here is that the MRI did not use his middle initials. If the MRI had used his full name the mix-up would never have occurred."
Editorial Notes
The families have requested that all media calls should be directed in the first instance to Emma Smith / Claire Rowley in the media management department at Alexander Harris on 0161 925 5555.
John N M Walsh
John gave so much of himself to service in the community, where he was a past Councillor and past Chairman of the old Cheadle and Gatley Council; Chairman of Governors at Orrishmere Primary School where a library was very recently opened in his name. He and his wife had been School Governors at Bruntwood Primary School. He had served in the Scout and Guide movement for over 30 years and was Secretary of scouts when he died suddenly, where he also regularly helped out at The Abney Centre in Cheadle, and where there is a Californian Redwood tree planted in the memory of Gwyneth, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walsh and sister to Graham and Ivor who died some years previous; and where the members of Abney have planted a beautiful array of daffodils around the tree in his memory. He was a voluntary member of the management at Stockport Citizens Advice Bureau; he was also a member of Cheadle and Gatley Rotary Club, where he was Past President and Secretary and held the Paul Harris Fellowship Award. In the past, he and his wife had taught cycling proficiency for over 20 years on a voluntary basis.
He gave his life to so many and was very fastidious in his records and yet the same has not been true by those whose records have had absolutely dire consequences.
'A highly respected niche practice' Alexander Harris is ranked as one of the leading specialist clinical negligence firms and amongst the leading firms specialising in personal injury (Chambers / Legal 500 2003/2004). Alexander Harris also specialise in Inquests, Inquiries and investigations, pharmaceutical product liability, education and mental health. With offices in the North West, London and the West Midlands and over 160 staff, Alexander Harris' latest news can be found on the internet at www.alexanderharris.co.uk.
Please take care to ensure that this photograph is recorded as that of John NM Walsh.
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