I've waited four months to bury my son after delay in returning brain

A grieving mother has said she has been waiting for over four months to bury her son after delays to post-mortem tests on his brain.

Phil Malone, 39, died at the Queen's Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham on 8 June, five weeks after suffering a bleed on the brain. The organ was removed after the coroner asked for tests to determine a cause of death.

Lyn Malone, who lives in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, said she was initially told it would take 10 weeks, but 16 weeks after his death she had still not been able to bury him.

She has now been told that the tests have been completed and the body has been returned to the undertaker, but Lyn said it has taken a huge toll on her.

Lyn said: "It's been so long waiting and ringing to see if there was any news. Four months is an awful long time to wait.

"It's like losing him again. It brings all the grief back and it is delaying that final goodbye.

"I don't want to think of him in a mortuary. I want to think of him put to rest with his dad. I just want peace."

Lyn had the option to bury her son's body and brain separately once the tests were done, but she said she wanted Phil "put to rest whole, not in pieces".

She added the process had been difficult as the results of the tests "will not bring him back".

Lyn said: "After 16 weeks of being told I couldn't get a timescale, I decided that I'd had enough and I wanted some answers."

She was told on Monday that the tests had been completed, and she has now been able to plan her son's funeral.

Lyn said: "You don't want to lose a child, the child shouldn't go before the parent. It's not the right order. It should have been me, not him."

She added Phil, who worked at Tesco Express, would be remembered for his love of The Beatles, cars, and gaming.

Claire Greaves, clinical director for specialist clinical services at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QMC, said: "We would like to express our sincere apologies to the family of Philip Malone for the delays to his post-mortem, adding further distress to an incredibly difficult time.

"Following a brief period of resourcing issues for this specific area of post-mortem examinations, we are now working through those delayed examinations and hope to have them completed within the next few weeks."

Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Coroner's Service said Lyn was advised on 29 June that the pathologist required a specialist examination to establish the cause of death, which adds to the delay for release of the deceased for funeral.

"This matter was pursued regularly by our office on behalf of the family," they said.

"Our officer emphasised that the family were distressed by these delays and she updated the family with the reasons given by the trust.

"Unfortunately, pathology services nationally are under enormous pressure.

"Ultimately, the coroner service is not in a position to change this, but we will continue to work with the trust on behalf of our bereaved families to try to ensure that delays are kept to a minimum."

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