In Channel 4’s Dispatches, Amanda Holden has revealed how thousands of foetal remains have been incinerated along with clinical waste, instead of being cremated as parents were led to believe.
“It’s disgraceful to think babies were thrown into the burner alongside waste such as bandages and syringes"
The show reveals freedom of information figures showing at least 15,500 fetal remains under 24 weeks old have been incinerated by 27 NHS trusts during the last two years.
Ten trusts admitted burning more than 1,000 sets of remains “as clinical waste”, while two others used “waste-to-energy” furnaces that power hospitals.
Amanda said to The Mirror: “It’s disgraceful to think babies were thrown into the burner alongside waste such as bandages and syringes.
“I hope mothers and fathers will be comforted by the knowledge this won’t go on any more.
“But I know it will make people think, ‘Oh my God, what happened to our baby’.
“We might have kicked over a hornet’s nest in some respects. I just hope women going through this will be comforted by the positive outcome.”
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For Amanda, who wed Chris Hughes in 2008, the Dispatches probe was close to her heart. Between giving birth to her daughters eight-year-old Lexi and Hollie, two, she suffered a miscarriage in 2010 and had a stillborn son, Theo, in 2011.
And, in the documentary, Amanda made sure to visit the chapel where Theo was cremated three years ago for the very first time.**
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She explained: “I agreed to do the show but I was very strong about the fact that I always believed myself to be a champion of the NHS.
“And I still am. They saved my life and after I lost Theo we were treated with so much compassion and care.
“For me it was incomprehensible that it wasn’t the situation everywhere. I thought that when it came to the subject of babies dying, the policies wouldn’t be relaxed anywhere. But the documentary is just shocking.”
One in seven pregnancies ends in a miscarriage, and NHS figures show there are around 4,000 stillbirths each year in the UK, or 11 a day.
While the incineration of foetuses was banned in Scotland in 2012, the Human Tissue Authority currently permits it for remains under 24 weeks.
After the documentary launched, Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter, promised to investigate the "totally unacceptable" practises of the NHS.
He said: “That is why I have asked Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, NHS Medical Director, to write to all NHS hospital trusts. He has written to the NHS and made clear that it must stop now.
“The Chief Medical Officer has also written to the Human Tissue Authority to ask them make sure that there is clear guidance on this issue.
“While the vast majority of hospitals act in the appropriate way, that must be the case for all hospitals and the Human Tissue Authority has now been asked to ensure that it acts on this issue without delay.”
Will you be watching Amanda Holden, Exposing Hospital Heartache: Channel 4 Dispatches, tonight at 8pm?
**If you've been affected by this story, please visit Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society - SANDS. **SANDS support bereaved parents and families if a baby dies before, during or after childbirth. Helpline: 020 7436 5881 (lines open Monday – Friday 9.30am - 5.30pm, Tuesday and Thursday 6 -10pm)