Pathology – Mortuary

The mortuary provides a vital part of the service given to patients who die in hospital, as well as in the community, and their bereaved family and friends. We provide a high quality mortuary service which respects the dignity of the deceased and their families as a key part of effective support for bereaved families.

Our mortuary provides an efficient and effective service which follows stringent procedures to ensure safety and security, whilst demonstrating respect and sensitivity for bereaved families. Our dedicated and caring staff provide a service involving approximately 1600 deaths per year from the hospital and local community. We undertake approximately 600 post mortem examinations, the majority under the direction of Her Majesty’s Coroner for Swindon and Wiltshire. We work closely on a daily basis with the following teams:

  • Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
  • Funeral Directors
  • Coroner, Coroner’s Officers and Police
  • Transplant teams
  • Doctor’s and nursing staff
  • Portering staff

PATHOLOGY

 

In this section:

Contact

Thedepartment is part of the Pathology Directorate of the Swindon and Marlborough NHS Trust.

The postal address is:

Mortuary
Lower Ground Floor
The Great Western Hospital
Marlborough Road
SWINDON  SN3 6BB

Telephone contact numbers:

Lead Consultant Histopathologist Dr Lawrence John

01793 60 42 82

Mortuary Manager Ms Samantha Cunningham 01793 60 48 09
Designated Individual Mr David Newell 01793 60 50 13

> Back

Service Hours

The mortuary is staffed from 8am to 4pm weekdays. Outside of these hours (including bank holidays) an on call service is provided for urgent matters. The Anatomical Pathology Technician on call can be contacted via the hospital switchboard on 01793604020.

> Back

Bereavement Service

A bereavement service for families of patients who die in hospital is provided via the PALS Team who can help with:

  • The Coroner and Coroner’s Office
  • Funeral Directors
  • Registering the death
  • General Practitioners


Further information can be found here.

> Back

Quality

The mortuary service follows the following eight key principles:

  • A service responsive to individual needs
  • A service that shows respect
  • A service that is safe and secure
  • A service that is confidential
  • A reflective service committed to improvement 6. A service which values effective communication
  • A service that is fit for purpose
  • A service which values it’s staff

Further information on these principles can be found here.

Human Tissue Authority (HTA)

The Human Tissue Authority was set up to regulate the removal, storage, use and disposal of human bodies, organs and tissues for a number of scheduled purposes – such as research, transplantation, and education and training – set out in the Human Tissue (HT) Act 2004.

Our mortuary is licensed by The Human Tissue Authority (Licence Number 12003) to undertake the following activities:

  • Carrying out post mortem examinations
  • Storing human bodies, tissues or cells from a deceased person and/or
  • Removal of relevant material from a deceased person other then in the course of a post mortem examination

A Designated Individual is appointed under whose supervision the licensed activity is authorised to be carried on. They have the primary (legal) responsibility under Section 18 of the HT Act to secure:

  • That suitable practices are used in undertaking the licensed activity
  • That the other persons who work under the license are suitable
  • And that the conditions of the license are complied with.

Further information on the HTA, including organ donation and donating a body to medical science can be found here.

> Back