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P2-27

Hospice security and access controls

Fuller Inquiry · Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report · Issued 15 July 2025 · Addressed to: Department of Health and Social Care

Government responseDepartment of Health and Social Care: Accepted (Dec 2025)

DeliveryDepartment of Health and Social Care says in progress (Jun 2026)

Recommendation, verbatim from the inquiry

●Inquiry recommendation

Hospices that care for deceased people on their premises should: introduce auditable access control of the area where deceased people are kept; have Standard Operating Procedures regarding the care of deceased people, including security of and access to the areas where deceased people are kept; and minimise unaccompanied access to areas where deceased people are cared for, wherever possible.

Fuller Inquiry, Fuller Inquiry Phase 2 Report · 15 Jul 2025 Source PDF →

Published evidence summary

AI-generated evidence summary

In June 2026, the Department of Health and Social Care reported that work was in progress, noting that it had worked with Hospice UK to ask clinical leaders to review their practices and that sector guidance had been updated to incorporate security measures (Department of Health and Social Care, Jun 2026). Later that month, NHS England notified health service trusts operating hospice services with body stores of this updated guidance alongside revised Human Tissue Authority standards (NHS England, Jun 2026).

AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 26 Sep 2026.

About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record above reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.

Government response

●Department of Health and Social Care · Accepted · 16 Dec 2025

Words of: Department of Health and Social Care, Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report, 16 December 2025

DHSC has worked with Hospice UK to ask its clinical leaders group network to urgently review their clinical practices against the recommendations. Hospice UK has already updated its Care After Death guidance for the hospice sector recommending that standard operating procedures regarding care of the deceased includes security measures to protect their dignity and safety, which may include CCTV monitoring. Any temporary or externally commissioned body store should meet these same security and governance standards.

The guidance also highlights the inquiry's recommendations suggesting the introduction of auditable access control to the area where deceased people are kept and minimise unaccompanied access of non-permitted staff or contractors if possible.

Extract from: Interim update on government progress in responding to the Fuller inquiry phase 2 report

Site note: This is the Department of Health and Social Care's interim update on government progress in responding to the phase 2 report, published on 16 December 2025. It sorts the 75 recommendations into those the government has accepted in full (11), accepted in principle (43) and is still considering (21), and gives words of its own only on the 11 accepted in full. Every word is the Department's, so the rows are filed under it, including where the passage reports what another body has done.

Site note: The recommendation is addressed to the Department itself.

Delivery

●Department of Health and Social Care says in progress · 16 Jun 2026

The Department of Health and Social Care has worked with Hospice UK to ask its clinical leaders group network to urgently review their clinical practices against the recommendations. Hospice UK has already updated its Care After Death guidance for the hospice sector recommending that standard operating procedures regarding care of the deceased includes security measures to protect their dignity and safety, which may include CCTV monitoring.

From: Fuller Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard

Site note: The source names this recommendation by number.

What other bodies have found

In their own words. These do not change the delivery statement above.

●NHS England · 26 Jun 2026

Recommendation 27 (relevant to hospice settings)
The full text of this recommendation can be found in the Phase 2 Report (p.268).
Supporting guidance
NHS trusts directly providing a hospice service that includes provision for either a mortuary or body store should be aware of wider updates, as set out in annex 1.
Other related third-party guidance has also been updated in line with inquiry findings: Hospice UK guidance (Care After Death) and Best practice guidance from the Human Tissue Authority (see entry 7 in Annex 1).

From: Nottingham maternity review findings on post-death care and key actions required following the Fuller Inquiry

Site note: NHS England's national system letter to NHS trusts and integrated care boards of 26 June 2026 (PRN02500). Its Annex 2 maps the NHS-relevant Fuller recommendations to named supporting guidance by number. The letter instructs trusts and records what NHS England has changed; it does not report that any recommendation is delivered. Neither the Board Assurance Statement returns it asks trusts for by 31 July 2026 nor the Premises Assurance Model submissions that closed on 8 September 2026 are published. Where the row carries an Annex 2 entry, it is the whole entry: the recommendations it covers, where their text is, and the guidance NHS England maps them to. An entry that only names guidance states no delivery position, and the site marks it noted.

Site note: The source names this recommendation by number.

How this page is built

The recommendation and the government responses are verbatim from primary documents. Delivery statements and other bodies' findings are shown in their own words, each with its source. The summary is written by this site and labelled as such. The Index does not paraphrase sources or characterise intent; it records what has been published.