Decision on Kettering General Hospital mortuary service awaited but coroner cases will move to new Northampton Riverside hub

From autumn 2025, those needing a post-mortem will be taken to a soon-to-be built £9.4m mortuary on the edge of Northampton at Riverside.

The state-of-the-art purpose-built facility would have the capacity for the whole county and will include a private viewing and identification area.

Julie Hogg, chief nurse for the University Hospitals of Northamptonshire that includes KGH, said: “Our priority for mortuary services is to ensure dignified care for the deceased, compassionate support for bereaved families, and appropriate use of resources.

“Currently mortuary services will continue as normal at Kettering and Northampton general hospitals but we are exploring how best to deliver these services in the future. No decisions have yet been made.”

During the Covid-19 pandemic, mortuary facilities at both Kettering and Northampton general hospitals came under ‘considerable’ pressure leading to a joint storage facility being created in The Leys, Wollaston.

From autumn 2025, West Northants Council (WMC), the organisation responsible for Northamptonshire Coroner’s service, has decided to move over the management of coronial bodies those that require a post-mortem - to a new ‘provider’. The services will be ‘delivered’ through the new county mortuary planned for Northampton.

Last week, WNC approved its own plans to build the mortuary on land the size of a football pitch (1.8 acres) at Booth Meadow, which sits next to Riverside Retail Park and Billing Aquadrome.

WNC Conservative councillor Mike Hallam, in charge of the project, explained the need for the new mortuary.

He said: “Mortuaries aren’t the most joyous of topics to discuss, but it’s an important topic nonetheless because there is currently a shortage of mortuary facilities across Northamptonshire.”

The authority has said the new facility will allow ‘a viewing’ area for the bereaved – a service only currently available in places like Leicester, Oxford, or London – which the council says has lead to rising costs for the council in terms of transportation and storage.

Work will start this month on the facility that will ‘transform bereavement and post-mortem services for families across Northamptonshire’.

WNC said: “Once completed in autumn 2025, the new mortuary will be a purpose-built facility, designed to deliver the highest standards of care and compassion during some of the most challenging times in people’s lives. It will provide modern, dignified spaces for families, including private viewing and identification areas, ensuring a compassionate and respectful experience for those dealing with the loss of a loved one.

“The facility will seek to provide services that are currently unavailable locally.”

WNC has also said that the new mortuary will provide a ‘more efficient and accessible service’ for professionals such as funeral directors and healthcare staff with families benefiting from ‘quicker outcomes and reduced delays’.

The mortuary could play a ‘vital’ role in the future. As part of ‘disaster preparedness’, the mortuary will be equipped to support emergency services and police in the event of a major incident, including mass fatality situations.

Stepnells Ltd has been contracted to build the facility.