The practice may also take place in other areas of a hospital, for example special care baby units or paediatric wards.

It is the responsibility of Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) to take forward the guidance contained in WTtSC. These Boards are made up of senior managers from different services in a local area, including healthcare, social services, the police and the coroner’s service. All NHS Trust hospitals should be able to identify their LSCB contact for advice.

Advice for those involved in the sale or purchase of human bodies, body parts or tissue.

The definition of relevant material in the Act is:

Section 53: Relevant material:

Guidance on filming or taking photographs within a mortuary setting.

Information on how to dispose of pregnancy remains following a pregnancy loss or termination.

Many people, with the agreement of their relatives, want to support research into dementia and other brain diseases by donating their brain to a brain bank for research.

Brain banks encourage potential donors to provide written consent while they are alive so that brain donation can proceed smoothly after they have died. Donated brains can only be retrieved on premises licensed by the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) for removal and storage of tissues for use for research (see 1 below). Most of these premises are mortuaries in NHS hospitals.

The HTA has updated its protocol to ensure the provision of forensic pathology services in the event of regulatory action taken in England and Wales.

The protocol is entered into between the HTA, the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Pathology Delivery Board, responsible to the Home Office for maintaining the forensic pathology service for the criminal justice system in England and Wales.