BEREAVED parents of a teenage girl say hospital blunders have added to their grief.
Georgina Weaver, 19, died at East Surrey Hospital last August after suffering prolonged severe headaches, blurred vision and unsteadiness.
But her mum and dad's grief and anxiety over the cause of their daughter's death was compounded when they learned she had lain in the hospital mortuary for almost a fortnight.
And, it later emerged, the delay meant a satisfactory post-mortem examination could not be carried out, meaning invaluable lessons may have been lost.
Miss Weaver was a former pupil at Warlingham School and studying animal care at college.
She was admitted to hospital in October and then December 2012, both times with blinding headaches and vomiting, before being admitted a third time last August. Within two days she was put on a life support machine, but died two days later.
Her mother Angie, of Limpsfield Road, Warlingham, said they then endured a 13-day delay before receiving the death certificate, despite repeated requests to the hospital for it.
She added: "While we were in the hospital's bereavement office about a week after Georgina's death we learned that she was still in the mortuary, and the post-mortem had not been carried out. Due to her being left for nearly two weeks in the mortuary her brain had gone too soft so they couldn't get the results they had hoped for."
This was borne out by the subsequent report the family was forwarded by Dr Paul Johns, consultant neuropathologist at St George's Hospital in Tooting.
He wrote: "The brain was received in a suboptimal condition, with extensive softening – possibly representing extended delay – and significant mechanical or handling artefacts, which may have been sustained during removal of the brain.
"As a result it was almost impossible to identify and sample some of the posterior fossa structures confidently."
Mr Johns said contributory causes of death may have included fluid of the brain and Arnold-Chiari Malformation, where the lower part on the brain pushes down on the spinal cord.
Georgina's father Laurence said: "We hoped research into my daughter's death would prove useful to help others with the same condition, but that chance was lost. It's been a total mess-up."
The parents donated many of Georgina's organs – among the beneficiaries was a young woman who had waited four months for a liver transplant.
Michael Wilson, chief executive of East Surrey Hospital's operators Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, said: "We would like to express our sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Weaver.
"We have conducted an investigation into their daughter's care in our mortuary and are in the process of organising a date to share the findings of this report with them.
"Although mistakes are very rare, when they happen we ensure that we learn from them."
