A grieving family had to endure two funerals after a hospital mix-up led to the wrong person being cremated.
The relatives gathered at Sirhowy Valley Crematorium in Blackwood, South Wales, three weeks ago but were given the body of a different person, who is not thought to have any surviving loved ones.
They then faced the ordeal of a re-run second funeral after the horrific error was brought to light by the health board that runs the The Grange University Hospital nearby in Cwmbran.
The chief executive said staff have been left ‘utterly heartbroken’ by the mistake.
The £350m hospital opened just three years and was meant to be a flagship for the Labour-run NHS in Wales but has been dogged with problems at the 550-bed unit.
Nicola Prygodzicz, chief executive of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said: ‘We are utterly heartbroken about what has happened to the family and we take responsibility for this isolated incident.
‘Words cannot express how sorry we are. We have met with the family to fully inform them about this situation and to offer them as much support as they need.’
Ms Prygodzicz said that the mistake was an isolated incident and it was the health board who first realised what had happened.
She went on: ‘We would also like to reassure the public that this is an exceptional case,’ she said.
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‘We identified this mistake through our own processes and after an initial review we are confident that this is down to an isolated human error.
‘However, we are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident and we will keep family members fully updated throughout our investigation.
‘No words we can say, or actions we can take, can put this right. We are deeply sorry, and our thoughts and full support remain with the family.
‘To the current knowledge of the health board, there are no known family of the other patient.’
A spokesperson for the crematorium, which is part of Westerleigh Group, said: ‘We pride ourselves on providing exceptional care and support to all families we serve and as such we treat their right to privacy incredibly seriously.
‘We do not have permission to provide any comments without the consent of families.’
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