A healthcare group has been fined £100k, following its illegal storage of human tissue at Edgbaston Hospital.
Circle Health Group, formerly known as BMI Healthcare was handed a fined after a length investigation by the Human Tissue Authority, West Mercia Police and West Midlands Police.
BMI Edgbaston was found to have illegally stored human tissue samples over a period of at least 11 years, collected under the direction of a surgeon Derek McMinn, without holding an appropriate Human Tissue Authority licence. McMinn, who invented a hip treatment used on tennis star Sir Andy Murray, was suspended in 2020.
The hospital subsequently allowed the human tissue to be removed from the hospital, again under the direction of the surgeon, to a private address which was also not covered by an appropriate licence. Also, no reasonable enquiries were made to see if a licence existed.
Inappropriate storage of human tissue at the hospital was previously highlighted in both 2015 and 2019 following an internal audit, but the response by management at the hospital was found to be wholly inadequate in addressing failings and it was evident there was a poor understanding and interpretation of the…
