A 14-year-old girl was handed her stillborn baby in a specimen bottle and told to take it home by hospital staff.

The girl's shocked parents put the 11-week old foetus in the family fridge before complaining to bosses at Bishop Auckland General Hospital, in County Durham.

No explanation as to why she had to take it home was given by staff who handed the girl her stillborn child.

When her parents rang the hospital to complain, officials sent a midwife and an undertaker to collect it on Monday night.

Last night, the County Durham and Darlington Acute Hospitals Trust offered a full apology to the family, who live in Shildon.

A spokesman admitted the incident should have been managed "in a more appropriate and more sensitive manner".

But last night the family said they were not satisfied with the explanation and demanded an investigation.

Although The Northern Echo knows the teenager's identity it has decided not to name her to save her from further distress.

The girl began to miscarry during a visit to the town's McDonald's restaurant on Monday lunchtime.

Visibly upset and distressed, she sought medical help at the accident and emergency department at the £67m hospital, which was hailed as a flagship development when it was opened by Prime Minister Tony Blair two years ago.

But the girl and her mother were stunned when hospital staff handed them the foetus, by now placed in a specimen bottle enclosed in a blue plastic bag and a brown padded envelope.

They were told to take it home overnight and to return it to the gynaecology department yesterday morning.

The teenager's mother said: "We saw a nurse and a doctor who told us to take the foetus back for the night. They didn't explain and we were too upset to argue. We felt numb.

"They took it away then brought it back and put it in an envelope.

"When we got home all we could think of to do was to put in the fridge.

"We are all upset about it, especially as I lost a baby myself recently. It was very insensitive, particularly in view of my daughter's age.

"We knew our daughter was pregnant. She was looking forward to having the baby after what happened to me. Now she is devastated."

On Sunday, the teenager had attended the out-of-hours urgent care GP centre at the hospital after suffering slight bleeding.

Her father said: "Something is seriously wrong at that hospital."

In May, the same trust apologised to a Newton Aycliffe couple Andrea and Dean Harrison, whose unborn baby daughter died during a 12-mile dash from Bishop Auckland's low-tech maternity unit to a high-tech suite at Darlington.

Councillor Betty Todd, who chaired the now-defunct South Durham and Weardale Community Health Council, said last night: "We keep hearing apologies from the trust but when are the services at Bishop Auckland going to come up to the same standard that they were before the new hospital was built.

"Apologies are all very well and good but we want the same standards as we had before and it is obvious that we are not getting it.

"It is appalling that a girl of this age was treated in that manner by staff who should have known better."

A trust spokesman said: "The trust has looked into what happened.

"The patient's care in the Accident and Emergency department should have been managed in a more appropriate and more sensitive manner. We apologise to the patient and family for the distress caused.

"We will be issuing guidance on how to deal with a similar situation in the future.

"Trust staff have been offering support to the family."

Comment - Page 1