SEMINOLE, Fla. – Staff at a Veterans Affairs hospital in the Tampa Bay area left a body in a shower for nine hours after a veteran died and proper pickup procedures to the morgue weren't followed.

The Tampa Bay Times on Sunday reported that an internal investigation concluded that staff at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System failed to provide appropriate post-mortem care to the veteran's body.

The investigation said that leaving the body unattended for so long increased the chance of decomposition.

The veteran, whose name has not been released, died in February after spending time in hospice care.

The hospital's Administrative Investigation Board ordered retraining for staff.

Hospital spokesman Jason Dangel said hospital officials view what happened as unacceptable.