Letterkenny University Hospital has apologised for misleading the mother of a baby boy who died prematurely, after she was given incorrect information about the location of her child's remains and prevented from attending the burial.

The hospital has apologised for having "failed" the Donegal woman, according to documents seen by RTÉ's This Week programme.

The woman is calling for hospitals around the country to ensure that bodies of babies are treated appropriately prior to being buried and that parents get full information about the burial process and the treatment of babies' remains.

Lisa, who does not want her surname known, told RTÉ that she was making the call after she found out her child's body was left stored in a room in Letterkenny Hospital for four weeks, contrary to being told at delivery that he was to be buried one week later.

Lisa gave birth to 'baby Eoin' in October 2016 during the second trimester of her pregnancy.

He died in the womb as a result of complications arising from a rare condition.

In a letter seen by RTÉ's This Week, Letterkenny University Hospital also apologised for a member of staff telling Lisa that Eoin's body had been placed in the mortuary during the four-week period after delivery.

His body had been left in a room in the gynaecology ward.

The letter acknowledges that Lisa and her partner were misled by a member of staff as to where the body was stored and apologises for the "deep hurt and distress which had been caused to both of you when [staff member] told you that your baby had not been buried and led you to believe your baby was in the mortuary when this was not the case".

She was told she could not attend Eoin's burial "for private and confidential reasons".

Lisa now wants parents to be allowed attend burials in Angels' plots for miscarried babies and pre-term babies who die in the womb and to know where in such plots their children's bodies are buried.

The letter of apology from Letterkenny committed to preventing similar incidents in the future: "We are sorry that you were failed by Letterkenny University Hospital in relation to the burial of your son, Eoin, and that this was not carried out in the timescale and manner agreed with you. Unfortunately and sadly we cannot change that. We can and will, however, ensure that baby Eoin's legacy will be that this does not ever happen again."

Speaking to RTÉ's This Week, Lisa said she was "infuriated" by the response.

"My child had to lie for four weeks for them to open their eyes to this. I don't understand how anyone could leave a human being, a baby, lying in a room for four weeks".

She also said she was hopeful of change at LUH but wants other hospitals to learn from her experience.

"I don't want anybody else to suffer the way we've suffered and continue to suffer. I don't think anybody should have to go through that and I just pray and hope to God that this never happens again."

"Every hospital has to put a protocol in place so that people know when they're going in, if they lose their baby that they know what's going to happen, that you can or can't go to the burial. They need to know all this before they make the decision."

In a statement to RTÉ, the Saolta Hospital Group, of which Letterkenny University Hospital is a part said it could not discuss individual patients with the media.

"We would like to take this opportunity to apologise again to the patient and her family for any distress caused.

"We have already revised our systems and are currently reviewing our policies for patient information and consent so as to ensure that we are in line with best international practice", the statement said.

In response to Lisa's calls for national protocols to be put in place, in a statement, the HSE told RTÉ that it published the National Standards for Bereavement Care following Pregnancy Loss and Perinatal Death in August 2016.

"The HSE has put resources in place to implement the National Standards for Bereavement Care as part of the National Women and Infants Health Programme." 

"Dr Keelin O'Donoghue, Consultant Obstetrician and Senior Lecturer Cork University Maternity Hospitals has been appointed to lead the implementation of the Standards.  Last year the HSE also put in place funding for 14 Clinical Midwife Specialists in Bereavement."

However, after looking at the 86 page standards documents Lisa has told RTÉ that they do not address the particular issues that she experienced.