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Mum learns baby was buried in mass grave

27/12/2001

A GRIEF-STRICKEN Boothstown woman has blasted Hope Hospital after discovering her miscarried baby had been dumped in a mass grave and not cremated as she was promised.

The distraught mum, who asked not to be named, lost her 14-week-old baby in June 1998. The child was taken to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital for a post-mortem where the Boothstown couple were assured their baby would be cremated in the hospital with a chaplain present.

However, following the Alder Hey scandal, the couple phoned the health authorities to double check their wishes had been carried out. They were mortified when it was revealed their child's body had been buried in a mass grave in Agecroft cemetery after being kept in both RMCH and Hope Hospital for over six months.

The baby's remains were stored at RMCH until October 1998 when the body was collected by Hope. However, they were not buried for another four months, in January 1999 in an unmarked grave with many others.

The heartbroken couple, who only discovered the truth last month, now want to warn other parents and urge those who may be in a similar position to check hospital records.

The courageous mother told us: "There's a grave full of babies. If I hadn't phoned up about my baby I would never have known about it. How many other parents are in the same position and how many other babies have been buried there?

"It should be someone's responsibility to say what's happened and it frightens me that no-one is accountable.

"I want to make this public because I want to make people aware of what Hope is doing."

She added: "When I found out what had happened to my baby I felt like howling. As I kept reading each phrase was just getting worse and worse. I was just horrified."

A spokesman for Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust apologised for the mistake and stressed policies were being reviewed.

He said: "We are very sorry for the circumstances that gave rise to their distress. We have now been assured by the undertaker that a Minister was present at the funeral.

"This was not one of our own Chaplains. Our communications have been completely open and we remain profoundly sorry for the delay in the burial of the miscarried baby, something we are unable, at this time, to explain adequately.

"We continually review the policies we have in relation to miscarriages and stillborn babies and are presently revising them again."