Muslim and Jewish faith leaders complain over Leeds mortuary delays

The meeting was told hospitals were facing "operational pressures"

An NHS trust has apologised after senior figures in the Muslim and Jewish communities complained of delays in the release of bodies from hospitals.

Burials from both faiths traditionally take place within 24 hours of death.

But staff pressures at hospitals in Leeds mean families are struggling to secure their release from mortuaries outside regular hours.

One Muslim councillor said she was getting "panicked" calls from families over the issue at weekends.

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT), which runs Leeds General Infirmary and St James', said it was "sorry for the poor experience".

The trust said the delays were being caused by "enormous" and "sustained" pressures across frontline care, as the issue was discussed at a council health scrutiny committee.

'Difficult situations'

Councillor Salma Arif, the authority's portfolio holder for public health, told the meeting the number of calls she was getting on a weekend over the delays had risen, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

She said: "I represent Gipton and Harehills. There's a large Muslim population there and there's always a lot of panic around that time on weekends from residents saying 'We're not able to get the body released'."

During regular weekdays hours, mortuary staff are able to process the release of a body.

However, in the evening and at weekends, when those staff don't work, the process is overseen by just one clinical site manager at each hospital.

Dr John Adams, LTHT's medical director for governance and risk, said the system used to work well but difficulties had arisen because of "operational pressures".

"That can lead to difficult situations where they're trying very hard to juggle a number of balls at the same time and to release a body in a timely fashion, while dealing with other matters that are going on in the trust at that time."

A statement read out on behalf of Simon Phillips, interfaith director at the Leeds Jewish Representative Council, said he would welcome talks with hospital chiefs on how to improve the situation.

"The provision of out-of-hours bereavement services for Muslim and Jewish communities [is] critical in ensuring we can exercise our religious responsibility to bury our dead without delay.

"This is particularly important at weekends, when we know cover may not be as widespread as during the week."

Dr Adams said the trust was considering moving to an 08:00 to 20:00 service that would operate from Monday to Sunday.