Response Information - Maternity Darlington Memorial Hospital

Response information - Maternity Darlington Memorial Hospital:

 No tissue / fetal remains / fetus are incinerated

 There are no multiple burials

 Cremation in groups / multi-load cremation used for all fertility control termination cases up to 16 weeks gestation and for all tissue / fetal remains from early miscarriage / evacuation of retained products / ectopic pregnancy.

50 cases are placed in each casket for group cremation.

The casket / caskets are cremated on a monthly basis at Darlington Crematorium

 For all other cases of pregnancy loss including later miscarriage, interruption of pregnancy for fetal abnormality and stillbirths families are offered individual funerals either burial or cremation and / or offered information and support to arrange a private funeral with an undertaker of their own choice

Hospital contract cremations may take place at any of the following crematoria – Wear Valley, Darlington or Durham.

Hospital contract burials may take place in Darlington, Bishop Auckland and some local cemeteries

 The figures included for the group cremation are figures for the whole Trust.

 The other figures are for the south of the Trust only.

Group cremation 2011 2012 2013 (For whole trust) 26 caskets (1299 cases) 28 caskets( 1395cases) 28 caskets (1400cases)

Funerals for pregnancy 2011 2012 2013 loss 12 – 23+ gestation (South of trust) Hospital contract 32 21 16 cremation Hospital contract 7 7 10 burial Private cremation 0 1 1 Private Burial 0 2 2 Contd.

Contd.

Funerals for 2011 2012 2013 Stillbirths(South of Trust) Hospital contract 3 2 2 cremation Hospital contract 6 2 4 burial Private cremation 0 2 0 Private Burial 4 3 4

Response information –University Hospital of North Durham:

Section 12.

Histology:

Histology cannot distinguish which cases actually contained foetal tissue, they therefore treat all of the cases the same way on the assumption that they do.

Histology cannot distinguish which proportions of cases are from termination and miscarriage.