Deceased treated with same dignity as patients

Today I am updating the House on the response to those recommendations. The Trust published an assurance statement in February 2024 on the implementation of the recommendations from the Phase 1 report. This sets out the progress made to implement the Inquiry’s recommendations.

The range of actions taken by the Trust include requiring that non-mortuary staff and contractors are always accompanied by another staff member when visiting the mortuaries; controlling access to mortuaries using swipe cards; mandating contractors to renew security clearances every three years; and installing CCTV coverage monitoring access to and from mortuary areas. The Trust Board is also providing greater oversight and assurance of legally regulated activity in the mortuary.

I am also reassured that NHS England’s South East regional team held monthly oversight meetings with the Trust between November 2023 and April 2024 (in partnership with Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board) to ensure progress against the Inquiry’s recommendations and to review evidence of the Trust’s progress in delivering their action plan. Ongoing compliance with the Inquiry's recommendations will be monitored by NHS England through regular regional oversight meetings with the Trust, and through other channels as appropriate.

The Trust now complies with this recommendation in full on the following basis:

• A definition of “Safeguarding” has been developed by the Trust’s Chief Nurse that can apply to this context, given that the Safeguarding legislation excludes the deceased. The following definition is as follows: “‘Safeguarding ensures all staff are acting with compassion to protect deceased patients in our care, from harm and preservation of their dignity. This will be delivered in line with all relevant Trust policies”.

• The work of the “Security and dignity of the deceased” workstream described under Recommendation 16 promotes the treatment of the deceased with the same due regard to dignity and safeguarding as it does its other patients. Examples of this practice in operation include: mortuary preparation packs; and developing enhanced links between the wards and the mortuary.

No statement on delivery from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has been found in the sources searched. This is separate from the response above.