By EMS1 Staff
BURY, England — An EMS provider was suspended for not taking a body directly to the morgue because their shift had ended, according to officials.
BBC reported that the North West Ambulance Service Trust EMS provider did not take the body directly to the morgue like they were supposed to, but rather took the dead man, who was believed to have died in the ambulance, to the station and transferred the body to another vehicle before going to the morgue.
“The Trust was extremely shocked and appalled to learn of the incident which took place at Bury ambulance station on Dec. 29 and immediately launched a full and thorough investigation,” NWAS said in a statement. “We have spoken at length with the patient’s family to offer our condolences and to assure them that we have taken this matter very seriously and that this is not the standard of care we expect from our staff.”
NWAS confirmed that the EMS provider was suspended and said a full investigation is being launched into the incident. They added that the body transfer was not approved by ambulance control, but instead by a lead staff member of the crew.