Hospital seeks dead man's consent

MANCHESTER, England, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- A woman said bosses at a Manchester, England, hospital asked that her deceased father sign a consent form before his death could be investigated.

Sally Guidon said she wrote to North Manchester General Hospital officials after the death of her father, James Johnson, 76, listing a series of complaints and asking for hospital staff to investigate the death, The Daily Mail reported Thursday.

However, Guidon said hospital bosses responded with a letter saying they needed Johnson to give written approval before his file could be opened.

"I cried for about an hour and a half when I got the letter," Guidon said. "It was the final insult, I don't know why I was surprised by it after seeing the way they cared for Dad -- it is typical of them to make such a basic error."

Hospital administrators said they apologized for the letter, which they blamed on an administrative error, and said the case will be investigated once Guidon's mother, who was listed as her husband's next of kin, gives permission to open the file.