LAST week, Trade Secretary Alistair Darling announced an inquiry into the removal of body tissue from 65 former workers at the Sellafield nuclear power plant, who died between 1962 and 1991.
I was saddened by this news, as no doubt this will have come as yet another painful reminder to all those families involved in the issue of organ retention at Alder Hey and other hospitals around the country.
The appointment by the Government of the very able and compassionate Michael Redfern, QC, as chairman, should at least ensure the errors of the past in both the timing and manner of the release of information to the families of the deceased should not be repeated.
What the "truth" is remains to be seen, but I am sure one of the main aims of the inquiry will be to establish the facts as quickly and as accurately as possible.
The legacy of organ retention is that today's society has come a long way when it comes to the issue of obtaining "consent", not only for post mortems, but for any sort of medical treatment.
In addition to which, there are now statutory safeguards as contained in the Human Tissue Act 2004, and we will soon have the much-delayed reforms to the Coroners Rules and Practice, which together should ensure at the very least, that the events at Alder Hey and elsewhere, are never to be repeated.
That said, the safeguards which we now have will be of little comfort to Sellafield workers’ families, who will be desperate for prompt and accurate information as to what actually happened to their loved ones.
IAN COHEN is a partner with Goodmans solicitors