Camden New Journal - Letters: Daughter's distress over delayed funeral

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Camden New Journal - LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published: 10 May 2007

Daughter’s distress over delayed funeral

• I ACT for the family of Anthony Myers, who is currently interred below Frederick Newman. The Myers family have asked me to clarify the circumstances of Mr Myers’ death and subsequent internment in a municipal grave (Exhumed pensioner now ‘deserves his own grave’, April 26).
Anthony was 29 years of age when he died. At the time of his death he was an inpatient cared for by Camden and Islington Mental Health NHS Trust. He had also been a patient at University College Hospital and had been treated there in the 24 hours prior to his death.
Anthony’s family were not aware he had been admitted to hospital. Nor were they informed of his death, owing to an administrative error within the trust. Anthony’s family reported him missing to police but it was only when Camden and Islington Mental Health Trust carried out its own internal investigation some months later that its error in not informing the family was realised and the family notified of Anthony’s death. By that time Anthony had been buried in a municipal grave.
Anthony’s family and ourselves have been working with the mental health trust and its representatives to secure Anthony’s exhumation so he can be cremated and his ashes interred with his parents.
That process has been slow and extremely distressing for the family because of the refusal by Barry Sullivan to consent to Mr Newman’s exhumation to allow access to Anthony’s remains.
That is a refusal that Mr Sullivan maintained for many months, although he was not a blood relative of Mr Newman. It was only when the Treasury Solicitors, who were administering Mr Newman’s estate, were able to locate Mr Newman’s family members that progress was made. Mr Newman’s family very generously gave consent to his exhumation.
The lengthy delay in securing consent for Mr Newman’s exhumation to allow access to Anthony’s remains significantly increased the distress to Anthony’s family, in particular his daughter Brogan, aged seven, who could not understand why there had not been a funeral and why Anthony did not have his own place of rest that she could visit. Explaining the situation to Brogan has caused the Myers family untold distress.
An inquest has been opened into Anthony’s death but is currently adjourned while police undertake investigations into the circumstances of his death.
SUSAN HARDIE
Hodge, Jones and Allen

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

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