by Mary McCool, BBC Scotland
Six bodies have been wrongly released by the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow since it opened in 2015.
In one case reported in December, mortuary staff had given an incorrectly labelled corpse to undertakers – a mistake that was only realised after it had been cremated.
Now, as originally reported by the Times newspaper, BBC Scotland News has learned a further five mix-ups have happened since 2015.
The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board said that no funerals were held with those bodies.
A spokesperson said: “NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde offers a sincere apology to the affected families.
“We recognise the additional distress this has caused and are committed to learning from these incidents to strengthen our processes.”
The case in December meant that one family were denied the chance to have their relative’s remains for a funeral.
On this occasion, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde blamed human error and said that the staff involved had been suspended.
The Inspector of Burial, Cremation and Funeral Directors has investigated the matter.
Scottish Labour has now called for Neil Gray to apologise for the disgraceful mix-up, that has happened on his watch, as well as his SNP predecessors.
Scottish Labour spokesperson Jackie Baillie and SNP Health Secretary Neil Gray.
Scottish Labour health spokesperson Jackie Baillie said: “These errors are the ultimate violation for the families affected. At their time of grief, this negligence will have compounded their agony.
“Since the hospital opened in 2015, it has been embroiled in scandal, all on the SNP’s watch. Neil Gray is the Health Secretary who now takes the blame. He must now, as a matter of urgency, apologise to those families who have had to endure this.
“Neil Gray’s tenure as Health Secretary has been marked by failure. However, there is still time for him to do the right thing – issue a forthright apology and make sure it never happens again.
“Scotland can do better than the SNP. In May, the people of Scotland will have the chance to choose a new direction with Scottish Labour and Anas Sarwar.”