A disabled man pronounced dead by medics in an Irish hospital was later found to be very much alive by staff from the morgue, the hospital said today.
The patient, in his 30s, had been in the Mater Hospital, Dublin, for treatment on Easter Sunday when ward staff mistakenly certified his death.
But by the time the error was spotted his family had already been informed and were grieving for their loss.
A spokesman for the Mater confirmed what had happened and management have set up an inquiry to establish how medics made such a huge blunder.
It is understood ward staff declared the man dead on Easter Sunday and contacted morticians that a body had to be collected.
The man’s family were contacted around the same time and informed of their supposed loss.
The error was then discovered when staff from the morgue arrived on the ward to take the body away and discovered that the patient was in fact alive.
It is understood that he has since been discharged from the hospital and has gone home.