Family member died at the weekend; heard from coroner today that they cannot release body due to suspected nature of death… (England)

Hello all. I’m just after some general advice please.

My uncle passed away in hospital at the weekend. He had been unwell for quite some time and, although he seemed on the mend, his death wasn’t a surprise.

The surprise came earlier today when my father, the brother of the deceased, received a phone call from the, quote, ‘head nurse on behalf of the coroners’ office’. My father was told that the coroner believes that the death was a result of an incorrectly inserted feeding tube which cut off his air supply and killed him.

We are heartbroken. He was the patriarch of our family and looked after everyone. To lose him was bad enough but to think of him struggling for breath in his last moments, unable to do anything, is devastating. We are distraught, my father in particular. He was alone at 2am on Sunday morning. No chance of anyone being around to help him.

I’m not a lawyer, I don’t have any experience in medical negligence, nor do I have a clue what to do next other than to speak to a solicitor - which I have already started work on.

What, generally, are we supposed to do? As I said I will be speaking to a lawyer tomorrow to ascertain whether there is a case to answer (clearly there is?).

The idea of suing the NHS is slightly abhorrent to me but the idea of someone who is capable of such an elementary mistake causing the death of my uncle remaining in their job is even worse.

Legal advice and moral guidance accepted please. Thank you.